Mandala Monday (& Gina's Giveaway Reminder)

It's a Turtle-y Awesome Mandala Monday thanks to this adorably romantic pair of terrapins from my friend Gina's Clip Art Book which is now available on Amazon! 

The clipart book features five hundred (500!) bright and colorful images of @ginaisarty original, digital mixed-media collage art, and has lots of whimsical animals, fish, plants, anthro characters, headings, journal spots and more. There's a flip-through of the book on Gina's Instagram if you want to see every page before you decide; and this strand of my blog has some additional projects I've made. But let's just say I'm fairly confident that if you love collage, journaling or cardmaking and would like some beautiful and distinctive images to use in your art... this is a fabulous title to have.

Gina is giving away TWO copies of this wonderful stash of colorful goodness to two lucky USA-based artists who read and follow the instructions on THIS IG POST. The giveaway ends at 5pm this Thursday, November 20th, so hop on over and enter for your chance to win! ♥

Did She Say, "Collage Box"?

Yes. Yes, I did. What IS a collage box? It's a gift box that instead of being temporarily covered in wrapping paper, gets its top and bottom permanently covered in vintage paper; in this case a large scale map of Bucks and Montgomery Counties in Eastern Pennsylvania* circa 1975.

After covering both parts of the box with the map (I like Scotch Create Gluestick for this sort of operation) I added my collage bits which consist of: torn pieces of 49 and Market Sherbet Lace 4" wide washi tape; vintage South American bus tickets; vintage Red Stamps; torn sheet music and text paper; some Chinese roses and a Sewing Pattern Lady. So what's in the box?

Is it a flower? Well, kind of. It turns out that any scarf with a ruffly edge can be twirled into a flower-like shape before wrapping, as you can see. Here's a photo where it looks much more scarf-like:

This pattern is called Open Lace Skinny Scarf (or possibly Poppy Scarf) by Emily Johannes aka @emilyj.designs who has also an Etsy Shop called Girlpower Designs. I made this one sliiiiiiightly skinner than the original because I was using up two different variegated luxury yarns, paired with Lion Brand's TruBoo and I wasn't sure if I'd have enough, which... I only just barely made it to the end, so my plan to go back and add rows to the flat edge, making it less floppy had to be abandoned. 

It's very pretty though. And VERY long. Possibly not super warm but... you can't have everything, right?

Here's the box again, I used a piece of vintage sari silk to hold the box shut. If you're NOT into collage or fancy/permanent gift wrapping, I still highly recommend using non-traditional types of paper for gift wrapping: large maps, old posters, and those cool folded infographics that are sometimes tucked inside National Geographic, are all faves of mine. Even an old standby from my childhood: wrapping gifts in the comics pages from the newspaper has a fun, distinctive look that your recipient will love and are super-economical, as well! Torn fabric, tulle, sari silk, twine and yarn all make great substitutes for ribbon... and you'll be LITERALLY thinking "outside the box"!!! ♥

*Fun fact: On the left hand side of the box's top, you can see the area where my brother and his family live... but since the map is from 25+ years before the subdivision was built, not even the roads are there yet!

Lots of Leftovers

We're still rounding up those Crafty Leftovers at Jingle Belles and using them to make fun and festive holiday cards. This week I've raided the RED section of my scrap file and made a pair of cards with lots of little pennants. See?

I found a couple of A2 sized panels in my "leftovers" box: one white with pierced snowflakes; and one red with embossed dots. I'd trimmed them to 1/3 and 2/3 respectively and started trying to decide which proportion I liked better when it hit me: I like BOTH! Luckily I had plenty of red and white scraps, which I started trimming into little flags and attaching at the dividing point... in the card equivalent of wainscotting, lol. I adhered two red metallic mats to two white A6 cards; found two red and white circular sentiments and diecut one red and one white scalloped circle from sticky back felt et voila!

Visit Jingle Belles to see how Holiday Leftovers are being used by Stephanie (and the Readers' Gallery) to make beautiful cards; then link up your own scraptastic masterpiece. 

Talkin' Turkey

Thanksgiving is on its way and here's a card that celebrates the season with lots of Eyelet Outlet Pumpkin Brads and Mini Leaf Brads, plus Sun and Cloud Brads set in a Cloud Washi Tape sky. Don't forget to save room for pie!

Shopping List:

Pumpkin Brads

Mini Leaf Brads

Sun and Cloud Brads

Cloud Washi Tape

All the embellishments and accents you need for Fall and Winter cardmaking can be found in the Eyelet Outlet Online Store!

MM45: Colors on Black

There are few things in the papercrafty world that are more magical (imo) than white and/or color on a black background. Whether it's via embossing powder or (as in this case) beautifully opaque paint pens, I always find the results impressive.

Did you know that the Ranger Store carries over thirty (30!) varieties of Posca Pens? From individual colors to variety packs; fine- medium- and thick-points; metallics, glitter pens... there are A LOT of awesome choices, just thought I'd mention it.

This mandala was drawn with colors from the Basics sets, in a mix of 1mm and 3mm points on Ranger's Black Heavystock; which, for the record, is the blackest black cardstock I have ever seen, as well as being my favorite.

Tiny Ice Cream Keychain

If you need a fun, fast and FREE amigurumi pattern, I recommend this tiny Ice Cream Cone Keychain from @seynooodesign which I made in the old school flavor trio of Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry. I used Knit Picks' gorgeous Palette Yarn (which comes in more colors than any other variety I've seen!) in Cotton Candy, White, Bark and Doe on a C hook which... let me just say that 41 year old me had MUCH BETTER eyesight than 61 year old me has, so this is definitely as small as I'm ever going to be working anytime soon again! But... there's no denying that the small scale makes this especially cute and appealing. BTW, there is an entire Seynooo Design Etsy Shop full of beautiful patterns for other foods, adorable characters and even some beautiful realistic artist dolls like Frida Kahlo and Vincent Van Gogh; you should probably check it out! :)

JB2523: Holiday Leftovers

One of the best things about a big holiday meal is the LEFTOVERS, don't you agree?! For various Black Friday lunches (generally a Family Art Day at my house) we've made Turkey Panini (with Brie and cranberry obvs), Turkey Biscuit Bombs, Turkey Pizza and even Turkey Totchos. This year we're thinking about a Turkey version of Hot Dish! 

But in a cardmaking sense, when we Jingle Belles say Holiday Leftovers, it means we're creating cards using all those leftover offcuts and scraps of patterned paper, alphabet stickers, little snips of ribbon, extra diecuts that didn't get used the first time... you know, all of those tiny things we save because they're too pretty to throw away? Well this is the fortnight to drag them all out and see how many we can use on holiday cards! 

For this card, almost all my Leftovers are older Wendy Vecchi items. The poinsettia is from her MAKE ART Doodle Christmas Stamp Set (it was embossed but not colored); the small flowers (from Floral Doodles) were stamped AND colored on sticky-back canvas tape, I just needed to cut them out. The square panel of sheet music was attached to a 6" card base that for some reason didn't get used (no idea why); and the "MERRY" (from Wendy's Statements Chippies) had been white-embossed with her Perfectly Plaid Background Stamp, but the white embossing was not very prominent... (likely why it became a "leftover" instead of an element) ...though I discovered I liked it once it had a coat of Leaf Green Archival Ink. The additional sparkly foliage is newly cut, using the Xmas Add-On from Not Your Ordinary Card Collection; I also used the negative space from one of the branches to "stencil" some English Ivy underneath where I was going to place the branches. The washi tape is from an older roll that I *thought* I'd be finishing up but no, there's still some... wait for it... leftover! ;)

Head over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's beautiful card, then get our your box (or folder, or envelope) of Crafty Leftovers and start making a card. Link it up on the Holiday Leftovers post by 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, November 19th.

Merci Bouquet

I may have already mentioned how much I love Wendy Vecchi's new Tabbed Classics Collection from Spellbinders; and also that I (now) love stenciling on perforated paper. This time I used the Build a Plaid Layering Stencils (from Not Your Ordinary Card Collection) with Wendy's Archival Inks on the perforated, having cut the decorative pocket cover from the Essential Envelopes Everyday Add-On set and added more decorated stitching to the widest strip of plaid.

I decided the pocket shape was a bit like a vase (...just go with it...) and since I had a bunch of leftover blue and purple flowers (also from Everyday Add-Ons) from this post, I decided they'd be the perfect addition. I made a split background with the Polka Dot and Posy Duo Embossing Folder to set the scene. 

Check out the Make Art with Wendy Vecchi Facebook Group for lots more ideas, inspiration, tips, techniques and projects; you can thank me later!

Icons of Fall

Autumn *begins* at the end of September, but somehow it really kicks into high gear after Halloween. Here are some favorite Fall Icons, represented by Eyelet Outlet Brads: colorful Leaf Brads; an acorn from the Acorn & Squirrel Set; a Sunflower, and a Pumpkin Brad... all set off perfectly with Wide Brick Washi Tape.

Fabulous Fall Shopping List:

Leaf Brads

Acorn & Squirrel Brads

Sunflower Brads

Pumpkin Brads

Wide Brick Washi Tape

Everything you need for Autumn and Winter (and Holiday!) cardmaking can be found in the Eyelet Outlet Online Store!

SOS560: A Few of My Favorite Things

The new challenge at Shopping Our Stash is called, "A Few of My Favorite Things" and what we'd like you to do is make a card that uses two or more of YOUR favorite crafty ingredients... and make sure you tell us what they are and why. Sound like fun? I thought so, too! Though honestly, the hardest part for me was to focus in on just a FEW favorite things... 'cause I have lots, lol!

Pertaining specifically to this card/challenge, THESE are a few of my Favorite Things:

1. COLLAGE! Not a thing, as such, but a style that I always love, especially with lots and lots of layers and a combination of items that don't necessarily "go" together but I liked how they looked.

2. Stickers! All of the flowers here are from the Botanist's Sticker Anthology book that Stephanie gave me a year or two ago and despite lots of use, I still have loads left. If you love stickers and/or beautiful books, you should check out the DK Sticker Anthology series.

3. Washi Tape! I love all beautiful tape and LOTS of my faves are from Eyelet Outlet; but in this case, I broke out the BIG guns...49 and Market's 4" wide (four inch wide!) Spectrum Sherbet Lace Washi. Again, I've had this for several years and I'm maybe only about halfway through the eleven yard roll.

4. Vintage Goodies! Some years ago, I realized that I have sooooooo much vintage paper, the only way to even make a dent in it was to start my own Etsy Shop (it's called Just Enough Stuff, just sayin') and make themed packs of vintage and found collage ephemera, including illustrations, sheet music, foreign text, nature images, and lots of other stuff. On this card, there's part of a map and the map index, some sheet music and a Georgian building; plus a strip of grey and purple bus tickets that my friend Heather brought back from South America.

5. Machine Stitching! Again, a technique rather than an item, but I do love stitching on cards. Mostly, I just like the look and the texture, but in the case of collage cards, when there are lots of items that go right to the edge, stitching around the perimeter is quite useful, because you know that NOTHING is going to fall off or try to curl up. So it's win/win. I am also still in love with inked edges, and you can see that there's just a tiny bit of Frayed Burlap around the edge between the stitching and the card base.

6. BIG Cards! Kind of tangential, but I really do enjoy making larger-than-A2 cards. This one is A7 (about 5 x 7"); I also love A6's (6.25 x 4.75"ish) and 5.5" square cards. I expect this is because I'm somewhat of a Maximalist; also when it comes to collage, the images are whatever size they are and I hate to cut off too much so... (shrug) ...I sometimes make cards that are whatever size they turn out to be and then figure out the envelope issue later. :)

There are lots more inspiring cards from the Crew at SOS, and you can read about their Favorite Things as well. SOS560: A Few of My Favorite Things runs until the evening of Monday, November 17th and we'd love for you to join us!

Stickles Autumn Sparkle Card

Autumn is a season full of color and drama, but alas, not much sparkle... except, as in this case, in card form! Head on over to the Ranger Project Tutorials Page and follow along as I combine Stickles Glitter Glue and Archival Inks in lots of lovely fall shades to make...  

...this vibrant fall greeting!

Pumpkin + Patchwork

Here's a twist on the ordinary mandala: it's a zen doodle pumpkin drawn with Letter It Fineliners from @ranger_ink ...set in a patchwork of orange patterned paper. Inside my Dina Wakley 6x6" square Kraft Journal, which is no longer available but... there are lots of other amazing journal choices at Ranger; including large, small, Kraft, watercolor, square, ledger and more; you should probably check them out!

I hope your first week of November is off to a good start! ♥

Hey Little Pumpkin!

Here's a fast and easy Autumnal crochet project for which you can use ANY yarn, including leftovers (which is what I did); the pattern is FREE from Sarah Maker's website and you can choose between three sizes. There's only minimal finishing, as well, which is a big fave of mine. Also, it's worked flat rather than in the round, which I know a lot of folks prefer; and you need only know a few basic stitches, so this is a great project for beginners.

I used one strand of Lion Brand TruBoo and one strand of the leftovers of some fancy yarn store variegated yarn that I can't remember the name of; on a G or F hook... but truly, this is one of those projects where you can pretty much wing it and still come away with an adorable make!

HOPPY Anniversary

Would this be a good time for another funny, punny, fanciful card made with my Gina is Arty Clipart? (Let's assume the answer to that was, "Yes" ok? Thanks.) I've made a few "HOPPY" cards using stamps or Eyelet Outlet Brads. The pun works excellently with frogs, beers and... as in this case... BUNNIES! 

This time I used two of Gina's whimsically colored rabbits, plus a bunch of her multicolor hearts. I added a Dymo sentiment and a gel print background that I adorned with a bunch of white 49 and Market rub-ons from the Ranger store.  I matted the design panel on black and then attached the whole thing to a black A7 card featuring another coordinating gelli.

Here's a reminder what the book cover looks like and HERE IS A LINK to the page on Amazon where you can purchase your very own copy. Want to see a Flip Through before you buy? Visit THIS POST on Gina's Instagram @ginaisarty where you'll also find lots more of G's beautiful art and merch! Want a chance to *WIN* a copy of the book? Check out THIS POST on Gina's Instagram! ♥

Let It (Continue to) SNOW!

We're still creating holiday cards that feature SNOW this week at Jingle Belles... It might be snowmen, snowflakes or just a snowy landscape; but include some snow on your cards. Here's how I got SNOW-y this week:

The other night I had fun ink-blending various shades of blue Ranger Ink Distress Oxides over several panels of white-embossed snowflake backgrounds. But then I couldn't decide which one I liked the best... so I popped a hole into one and layered it over the other... problem solved! The snowman and sentiment are from Simon Hurley's North Pole Sentiments die set by Spellbinders; the Snowflake Brads and Enamel Hearts are from Eyelet Outlet.

Link your fabulous snow-centric masterpieces on the Dashing Through the Snow post at Jingle Belles by next Wednesday evening, November 5th! ♥

Holiday Jumpstart: Home for the Holidays

Holiday Jumpstart: Home for the Holidays is Paper Anthology's newest holiday card kit, which features a a cozy holiday cabin nestled in a layered, snowy landscape.

Paper Anthology’s Holiday Jumpstart Card Kit is our pre-packaged kit that includes everything you need (except adhesive) to complete FIVE copies of this new original holiday card design. This edition is called “Home for the Holidays” because of the sweet cabin ready to welcome friends and family.

We all love the IDEA of making holiday cards throughout the year, instead being overloaded in November and December; but sometimes it’s hard to be inspired during the “off-season”. That issue is solved by this pre-packaged kit, which features everything you need (except adhesive) to complete five copies of this original design. Also included are complete written instructions (not pictured, but included!) and a nice big photo for reference.

This kit contains:

Five pale blue patterned paper panels
Five white pierced Trees and Hills layers
Five blue gingham Trees and Hills layers
Five white pierced sloping hill layers
Five diecut cabins (with windows and snowy roofs)
Ten deep green pine tree clusters
Ten olive green pine tree clusters
Five pre-diecut glittery "Warm Wishes" sentiments
Complete step-by-step instruction sheet with large color photo
Five white A2 cards

CLICK HERE to visit the “Home for the Holidays" page in the Paper Anthology Etsy Shop!

Candy Corn: A Celebration

For those who love the idea of candy corn more than the taste, help yourself to some Eyelet Outlet Candy Corn Brads! Same iconic look as real candy corn, won't attract ants, and attach easily to any Halloween card, treat bag or journal page! Here they're strung across the top of the journal card as bunting, above some super-spooky Small Eye Brads and surrounded by a background of gorgeous Ghost Tape.

Super Spooky Shopping List:

Candy Corn Brads

Small Eye Brads

Ghost Tape

♥♥♥

All the embellishment tricks and treats you need can be found in the Eyelet Outlet Store!

Stenciling on Burlap? (YES!)

A while ago I saw Wendy Vecchi do some stenciling on burlap and it was kind of mind-blowing to me, I had never thought of that! Recently, I found half a roll of sticky-back burlap ribbon and I thought, "Aha! This is my chance!" so of course I broke out the six piece stencil set that comes in the Spellbinders' Thank You Bouquet Bundle from the Tabbed Classics Collection and had a go. I used Wendy's Archival Inks from Ranger. They're translucent, which means that the color of your substrate will subtly influence the color of your finished project. Since my burlap was about the same shade as kraft cardstock, that meant I chose darker shades of reds, greens and oranges, so they'd show up well and coordinate nicely. I used the awesome Tip Tuesday trick that Wendy demonstrated for us in this video, where she brilliantly used her MAKE ART Stay-tion and the magnetic corner square from her Perfect Stamp Positioner to line up the stencils perfectly, meaning that you can position them in ANY direction without having a hard time on subsequent layers.

I chose to mount my strip of burlap on a coordinating layer of Dina Wakley Kraft Cardstock that I had debossed with the Polka Dot and Posy Duo Embossing Folder. I used the one step Emboss and Cut feature of the Thank You Bouquet Folder to make a few textured blooms and added a bit of delicate foliage from the folder with my Christmas Add-On set; part of last year's Not Your Ordinary Card Collection. A super-skinny mat of ivory cardstock sets off the whole panel, and a bit of machine stitching ensures that my burlap won't fray or come loose. 

I'd write more, but I'm pretty sure that somewhere in my craft stash I have some colorful burlap and I suddenly NEED to go and find that!!! :)

Arachnophobes, Look Away!

It wouldn't be October if I didn't make a Spider Web Mandala... in pink, of course! So here's this year's model:

Spider webs are fun and easy to draw; they can be any size and shape; they can have doodles or not; they can have Spider Brads or not; this is a fun seasonal art project, even for folks who believe they cannot draw! If you'd like to see some other versions, click the italic text! ♥

It's a Tall Order

A giraffe collage, that is! Actually, this collage was easy and fun to make. The giraffes are from my Gina Is Arty Clip Art Book, as are the strips of numerals and the coral/pink gel print. athe sheet music, map and envelope are from my own stash of vintage goodies and the beautiful embossed diecut flowers are from Wendy Vecchi's Thank You Bouquet 3D Emboss and Cut set from Spellbinders; tinted lightly with Wendy's Archival Inks.

Not to brag, but this is instantly one of my favorite collages, so I'm especially pleased that I worked on it inside my Dina Wakley Ledger Journal from Ranger and thus I get to keep it forever!

Best (Clipart!) Fishes

Would this be a good time for another fab and funky card made with my Gina is Arty Clipart? (Be a sport and say, "Yes" otherwise this whole post falls a bit flat. Thanks!) I have made A LOT of Best Fishes cards over the years, usually for masculine birthdays, but really they kind of work for almost any occasion. 

For this one I used Gina's large circle journal spot which already had five fish, some foliage, some bubbles and a blank space to put a title. I added a sticker sentiment, an additional fussy-cut fish and mounted the whole thing on one of my older gel prints which happened to have exactly the right colors. I added some oceany wave machine stitching in the background and mounted the whole thing on a 6" square card.

Here's a reminder what the book cover looks like and HERE IS A LINK to the page on Amazon where you can purchase your very own copy. Want to see a Flip Through before you buy? Visit THIS POST on Gina's Instagram @ginaisarty where you'll also find lots more of G's beautiful art and merch!

Dashing Through the Snow

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're asking you create projects that celebrate the white fluffy flakes of snow: it might be snowmen, snowflakes or just snowfall, but include some snow on your cards. Here's what I made:

I serendipitously discovered this blue and purple gelprint (made ages ago, using an ancient Darice snowy embossing folder to left some of the paint off the plate) and added torn sheet music, purple Core'dinations cardstock and snowy washi; before layering on ALL the flakes from my Tim Holtz/Sizzix Stacked Snowflakes die in sparkly white plus various blues and purples.

JB2522: Dashing Through the Snow runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, November 5th. Join us at Jingle Belles!

More Pink? (YES, Of Course!)

I try not to use pink for EVERY project, even in October, but the fact is that Wendy Vecchi's Archival Ink collection from Ranger sported two of the best pinks ever: Pink Peony and Rosy Posey so it's hard to resist. For this card I made quite a loose background by "watercoloring" with Archival Ink and rubbing alcohol. 

I added some really rough stenciled flowers (also Rosy Posey, but with a heavier hand) using the stencils from Wendy's Thank You Bouquet Bundle from Spellbinders. Then I placed the dry panel, slantwise, into the Polka Dot and Posy Duo Embossing Folder and topped the whole thing off with the individual flowers from the Thank You Bouquet's emboss and cut feature. I added a soft swipe of Peachy Keen Archival and finished off with small dots of Rosy Posey Liquid Pearls in the centers. 

See the entire Tabbed Classics Collection and lots more awesome Wendy Vecchi goodies at Spellbinders!

Happy Halloween

What's better than an Eyelet Outlet Halloween Tape with adorable spooky icons and gold foiling? An Eyelet Outlet Halloween Tape that can be lined up seamlessly to connect the images and make your own gorgeous patterned paper, that's what! Add some Bat Brads, a Black Cat, a Broom, a Witch's Hat, some googly Eye Brads, and a wee Ghost and your super-fun design is complete!

Boo-tiful Halloween Shopping List:

 Bat Brads

Cat Brads-Black

Vacuum & Broom Brads

Witch Hat Brads

Small Eye Brads

Ghost Brads

Halloween Tape

If it's creepy, kooky, cute or spooky, you'll find everything you need to make the best Halloween cards ever, in the Eyelet Outlet Store.

SOS559: Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice

Time for a brand new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and this one is super-seasonal! For Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice we'd like to see cards and projects which reflect however you interpret the changing Autumn Season: Pumpkin Spice Latte, Thanksgiving, Changing Leaves, etc; the choice is yours. I have to confess that irl, I don't care for anything with the pumpkin spice flavor profile, but... that didn't stop me from making a card I love:

This sweet fox journal card is from an autumn-themed paper collection we had at Paper Anthology a few years ago, from Photoplay, I think; but it had been cut out of the sheet and so I can't be absolutely sure. I know that I've looked at it and thought about using it quite a few times and (for mysterious reasons) it never happened until now. The background is a found piece of collaged vintage paper that I had watercolored with autumn-leafy shades and then (again, mysteriously) did not use. When I found it, I knew it was exactly the right thing, but to fancy it up even more, I had some brand new 49 and Market Irresistible Times white Rub-On Transfers from the Ranger Online Store that I've been dying for an excuse to open up, so I did. I used my ancient set of Cuttlebug Leaves Dies (possibly the first die set I ever purchased?) to cut out a few leaves from bright white text paper backed with cardstock and matted both the fox and the large background on rich brown self-adhesive felt sheets that I'm slightly obsessed with. I thought about adding a sentiment, but nothing I tried jumped out at me, so I decided to wait. (I have often found it helpful to have a few "uncommitted" cards in my stash... you never know what sort of card you might need at short notice and it's nice to have options.

SOS559: Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice will run until the evening of Monday, November 3rd. Check out the fabulous cards our talented Crew have made to inspire you at Shopping Our Stash.

Tiger, Tiger

It's a Wild and Wonderful Mandala Monday, featuring one of the beautiful jungle cat illustrations from my @ginaisarty Cut and Glue Book, paired with foliage, hearts and background patterns from the book; augmented with some of my own gel prints cut into hearts, tear drops and circles.

If you'd like to see a flip through of every single page of Gina's book, you can do that ON THIS POST on Instagram! (Warning: If you're a cardmaker, journaler, collage artist or planner chick you are going to WANT this book!!!)

More cards on the way. In the meantime, I wish you a wonderful week! ♥

Unbe-LEAF-able

Here's a mini-make featuring a little stash of diecut leaves I found in my crafty leftovers. They were beautifully watercolored, but slightly boring... so I used Wendy Vecchi's Polka Dot and Posy Duo and Thank You Bouquet Embossing Folders from Spellbinders to add texture and some Potting Soil Archival Ink from Ranger to emphasize the texture et voila! Perfect for dressing up a plain gift bag and envelope!

You can find the entire Tabbed Classics Collection and so much more Wendy Vecchi goodness at Spellbinders!

Happy Birdie(s) to You!

On Wednesday, my friend Gina's Fabulous Clipart Book went live on Amazon and I couldn't be more excited or proud! I was lucky enough to get an advance copy a few months ago, so I posted a round-up of a few smaller pieces I made over the summer (you can see that post HERE) but now I'm excited to make all new stuff... starting with this fun and funky birthday card featuring just three of the beautiful fanciful birds in the book! I used gelprints for the background, vellum for the clouds and my trusty Dymo for the punny sentiment.

Of course, there are lots of other flora and fauna in the book. There are fish, reptiles, cats, dogs, jungle beasts, plants, flowers, foliage and... well a little bit of everything, really; all in Gina's signature funky, colorful, whimsical style. Here's a reminder of what the book looks like, it's available from THIS LINK on Amazon

You can find lots more of Gina's art on Instagram @ginaisarty and there is plenty of fab merch in her Redbubble, Tee Public and Zazzle Shops!

PINK Christmas (week 2)

It's the second week of Pink Christmas at Jingle Belles; the annual event where we ask YOU to make and link up as many predominantly PINK holiday cards as you possibly can, because WE (Stephanie and Lauren) are each going to donate $2 per card to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation! So how can you participate? Just make as many new cards as you'd like, each with a winter holiday theme, which feature PINK prominently. Then link them on the Pink Christmas post at Jingle Belles. Easy peasy!

Here's this week's card:

This week I unintentionally did something that I'm secretly a bit proud of: if you look at this card carefully, you'll see that I haven't actually used ANY official Christmas/holiday product! In fact, all of the papers (except the background) were from my scrap box. The adorable narwhal is an older Doodlebug 3D Sticker* and the little fishes plus the hearts were part of the set. I made the sentiment using some older Lawn Fawn alphabet dies and my trusty Dymo Labelmaker. 

We'd love for you to join us in celebrating PINK CHRISTMAS and of course it's for a very good cause, so start making and linking those PINK holiday cards today! JB2521: I'm Dreaming of a PINK Christmas runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, October22nd.

*I tend to display beloved craft supplies for a bit before using them, so this Doodle-pops set is a few years old and seemingly now out of print. There are LOTS MORE varieties, though, from Doodlebug.