Stick Around

More Stationery Zen goodness from Ranger: I fell in love with these Mind Wave Quilt Atelier sticker sheets, they come in several designs, but this one is called House Near the Lake and I couldn't wait to use it in a Mandala.

I traced and cut a large circle, then punched several sizes of hearts from Dina Wakley MEdia Typed Ledgers, so I could make a little sticker scene at the center... which travels outward at a few key points, to fit even more stickers! At the very end I added some circles around the the rest of this page of my Ledger Journal, using my current favorite paint color, Mineral.

Circling Back

A lot of my collages are built around a particular color; but some are built around a shape... and as you can see, this is one of the latter. Dina Wakley has quite a few designs that feature circles, and the script transparencies from Pattern Play and some older Collage Paper icons that look a bit like extra large postmarks are two such, so I started with those; and then added circles of varying sizes cut from Typed Ledgers and dotty Chroma Transparencies from the Grunge Specimens pack. 

I don't always have a plan when I start a collage... (and I don't always follow the plan even when I have one, lol!) ...but in this case I had started out with the intention of combining the beautiful lady (from an older set of Transparencies that's, alas, out of print) and the multicolor butterflies from the Flutters Rub-On set, and that's exactly what I did.

I thought the collage was finished at that point, but when I came back to it later, the whole thing felt a bit "floaty" (super-precise collage term there) and so I anchored it with a few strips of Dina's Washi Tape (from an older pack; Set 2, probably) running vertically at the top of the page and horizontally at the bottom. Et Voila!  

Masculine Merriment (Week 2)

It's the second week of making "Guy Cards" at Jingle Belles, by which we mean holiday cards with a masculine vibe. Here's mine:

This card is 99% composed of gorgeous vintage-themed elements from Tim Holtz's Idea-ology Christmas Emporium Layers, a curated collection of elements that I snagged on the Ranger website. I've added in a few paper scraps, some twine, and woodgrain background. I distressed the edges of literally every single piece, which might arguably be considered "too much" but it was quite relaxing and soothing to do, so there's that. 

JB2617 Masculine Merriment runs until the evening of next Wednesday, August 26th. Link your newly made, holiday "guy cards" on the Masculine Merriment post at Jingle Belles.

Stickers and Pens and Washi, Oh My!

If you haven't checked out the Stationery Zen tab at Ranger Ink, you have a treat coming up. Because there are soooooo many fabulous varieties of Japanese stationery; plus pens, pencils, markers and refills; kawaii stickers, stamps and washi; planners and notebooks; totes, pen cases, tools, accessories... it's like someone took the coolest stationery store ever, and put it right into your computer or smartphone. 

Did I mention the STICKERS??! Yes, you've caught me, I'm a stickerholic, have been since I was about ten; which is like half a century of sticker love, so it'd just be silly to stop now. This trip I was pretty restrained, I only got four sets and I've opened two of them (Palettone Konpeito Candy and Poko Time Seal Animals; plus a brand new Bright pack of Zebra double-tipped Mildliners) to make a sticker mandala in my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal:

There are new things added all the time... and, alas, some things do sell out... so you should probably take a little scroll through Stationery Zen ASAP. Oh and did I mention that since it's part of the regular Ranger Ink website, you can stock up on your favorite inks, pastes, stamps and stencils from Make-It, Tim Holtz, Dina Wakley MEdia, Simon Hurley create, Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions and 49 & Market, plus treat yourself to some Stationery Zen for just one (domestic) shipping fee if you're in the USA... just sayin'... :)

Super Punchy Mandala Monday

I think I'm probably about two thirds through my Dina Wakley MEdia Ledger Journal; I've been working in it quite a bit, as it's such a nice size, shape and quality of paper. Being quite a big journal (7x12") it gives me a chance to try ideas that literally would not work in a smaller space, like this all-neutral mandala, made almost entirely from circle and heart punches! This is a fun style of mandala, literally ANYONE can do it, and it's a fab way to use up some of my (many, MANY!) patterned paper scraps!

Tic- Tac-TWO?

For the second week at Jingle Belles, we're playing Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe, which is kind of a holiday cardmaking version of  "Beach Blanket Bingo"! You still have time to join us; all you have to do is choose a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) and create a holiday card featuring all three elements in that row. Please note that it's fine to use more than one snowman; more than one diecut; red AND green; or a single flower, even! If this sounds like fun, then let's get going:

Here's my card this week:

I chose the right-hand vertical column, which gave me: Dry or Heat Embossing + Ribbon + Stamping. I'll admit I did that partially because I unexpectedly rediscovered my Dina Wakley Soaring embossing folder and once I saw it, I HAD TO use it immediately. My ribbon is of the gorgeous, pink, semi-sheer May Arts variety (which I think you'll agree stages really well!) And finally, my stamping is just the sentiment (from Taylored Expressions' Flip the Snowflake set) but I chalked up a second type of embossing by using Ranger's lovely Pink e/p. I diecut Hero Arts' Snowflake Corner twice (from pale pink and also silver glitter cardstock) and added a single Eyelet Outlet 1.5" Snowflake Bling to give it even more sparkle.

JB2616: Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe runs until 6pm (Eastern) next Wednesday, August 12th. Link your totally terrific Tic-Tac-Toe cards at Jingle Belles! 

ICAD2026 Wrap-Up

Hard to believe the entire 61 days of the 2026 edition of the @IndexCardaDay Creative Challenge have already elapsed, but the calendar says August 2md, so I guess we have to believe it's true. I am so grateful to Tammy @gypsy999 for starting this inspiring shindig sixteen years ago; and I am proud to have completed the last fifteen years. But honestly, the numbers are really the least of it; the point is to co spend some time prioritizing process over outcome, experimenting, and just generally making art on a regular basis for oneself. So if you participated, whether you made 61 cards or 16 or 6... I salute you!

Many thanks to all who followed along, left comments, dropped hearts and generally acted as cheerleaders to your fellow ICADians and ICADettes. I didn't do as well at that part as I had hoped to, but I truly loved seeing all the cards that came up in my feed and interacting (however limitedly) with this fab community!

Here's my #icadeverything photo. Each year I like to make a small ring-bound mini-book, which I fill up with finished cards as the challenge progresses. I like this format because it allows me to keep my cards together and in order as I work; also, on days when my time or energy is limited, the thought of adding another card to the ring kind of keeps me going. Plus I confess I really love taking this "fan" photo of the finished book each year!

PS: I'm already looking forward to #dyicad2027 ♥♥♥

Here are the last few cards from the past not-quite-full week of ICAD2026!

Day 62: Bonus Card

I always like to finish the ICAD festivities with a big bold THANK YOU (on an index card, obvs) to Tammy @gypsy999 and all my fellow ICADians and ICADettes for making this June and July the best @indexcardaday event so far! ♥

Day 61: Off-Prompt

Could not resist making one more freestyle collage that combines ink, a little stamping, some ancient rub-on transfers and a few vintage goodies.

Day 60: Beatles' Song

Octopus' Garden is one of my favorite Beatles' songs, not just because it's one of a very few written by Ringo, although the older I get, the more I appreciate his sense of humor and whimsy. I made a "smooshed" background with Isopropyl Alcohol and some analogous shades of Stellar Ink, then added bubbles and ripples and coral and flowers. (The last is not technically correct, but if an Octopus had a garden, I think there'd be flowers in it. So there.)

Day 59: Cobblestones

There is something really soothing about filling an entire index card with a semi-realistic pattern, then adding depth and color and shadows, etc and these cobblestones were especially fun to draw!

Day 58: Off-Prompt

This card combines three different half-finished, temporarily abandoned pieces that serendipitously added up to more than the sum of their parts. The sewing pattern lady collage layer was part of a bigger piece that I didn't like much... so I tore away the "excess" and started over. The layer beneath that is a  flower(ish) illustration from a book of fabric designs that I had outlined but then got a bit stuck, and set aside. Oddly enough, the colors match the SPL's flower perfectly. The tabbed card has some Perfect Pearls doodles that (once again... almostly spookily!) match really really well. You can't see much of it, but both structurally and design-wise it makes a perfect base for the rest. 

JB2616: Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe

This fortnight at Jingle Belles, we're playing Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe, which is a bit like "Beach Blanket Bingo"... but much more Christmassy... and with a lot more embellishments! We'd love for you to join us; all you have to do is pick a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) and create a lovely new holiday card featuring all three elements in that row. (Please note that you can, of course, use more than one snowman, more than one diecut, etc. etc.) Sound like fun? We thought so! 

Here's how I played the game this week:

I chose the center horizonal row, which gave me: Flowers + Red or Green + Ribbon. I couldn't wait to use my new Simon Hurley Festive Holly Layering Stencil set for the "red or green" portion; I used Simon's Iced Out and Tropical Tango Stellar Inks for the holly leaves and stems, with Prom Queen for the berries. My "flowers" consist of the single white silk poinsettia I had left, stacked with two layers of Tim Holtz's Tattered Poinsettia die, which I cut from deep pink felt and held on with an ancient holly themed brad. For "ribbon" I used two different patterns from an older set of Doodlebug Design holiday ribbons. At the very end I sewed around the perimeter (those ribbons are ON THERE lol!) and added a couple of mulberry paper ivy leaves of unknown origin.

JB2616: Tree Skirt Tic-Tac-Toe runs until 6pm (Eastern) on the evening of Wednesday, August 12th. Link your totally terrific Tic-Tac-Toe cards at Jingle Belles!

ICAD. (Again)

We've just completed the last *FULL* week of @indexcardaday (though the official wrap-up is not until Friday) so here are seven more cards from my own personal ICAD-iverse:

Day 57: Off-Prompt

(Mandala Monday)

I've had so much fun with my Posca pens this summer. One of my goals was to use them more often (check!) and... more difficult for me... NOT to outline all of the colors (also check!). This design made me think of a tagline Tammy G (aka @gypsy999 on IG) wrote for one of her mandalas early on in my ICAD participation. She called it a, "100% free-range, cruelty-free, organic mandala" and I think this fits that description pretty well!

Day 56: Board Game

When I read "Board Game" I flashed back to playing Candyland with my brother when we were very young. Something I didn't really notice or appreciate until I was much older, is the brilliance of Candyland's logistics: there's no reading; and you really don't even need to be able to count reliably, as the spinner and board direct you to advance to the next square on the board that is the correct color.  Whoever thought that up was both a genius, and a person who understood that kids will enjoy playing a board game together without adults, it's the reading and strategy that makes many games "too old" to play without a grown-up. I'm guessing a MOM invented Candyland?! 

My card is inspired by both Candyland and another game we (or possibly our neighbors) had, which I can only remember very vaguely; but I know you drew a card and then advanced to a place on the board which had the matching symbol. I have no idea what it was called... it's even possible I am retrospectively making it up, lol (But I THINK it was a real game; does anyone else remember it?!)

Day 55: Mirror(ball)

I made a nice dark inky background with three of my favorite shades of Simon Hurley's Stellar Inks, using Isopropyl Alcohol instead of water, so my flimsy index card would not get warped or pilled. When it was dry, I added slightly darker ink around the edges; then went wild with ancient white rub-on transfers. I cut that cool rose sticker into three parts for maximum coverage, then added a vintage ballerina and what I think might be the best caption ever. I generally try not to pick "favorite" ICADs based on the finished product, rather than process, but... I have to admit... I *really* like this one!

Day 54: Diagonal

Last year during ICAD, I made a bunch of pretty random backgrounds; some of which did not get used. Including this one that has skinny blue and green washi tapes arranged in a diagonal plaid pattern. Tonight I added some funky fruit illustrations and a daffodil. I feel like it needs one more thing, but since I have absolutely no idea WHAT that thing might be; for now, at least, I'm calling this (provisionally) done.

Day 53: Unwind

I glued the car, the flower, and the foliage to a plain white index card and then got stuck and set it aside. Later I thought, "Maybe the background should be zen doodles?" I'm still not sure if that was the right idea or if these are the right doodles but they were quite relaxing and fun to do; thus I count this as "Unwinding".

Day 52: Season

I think I've used my Posca Pens more consistently in the last two months than at any time previously, and it feels really good. I had intended to add all four seasons to this... but I got carried away with Spring and Summer, and ran out of room for Fall and Winter, lol. Maybe later I'll make a Part Two?!

Day 51: Off-Prompt

Here's another collage where the three background elements (a large photo of malachite, yellow flowers with stripey leaves, and green butterflies) almost blend together too well. But whenever Alice in Wonderland joins the convo, serendipity tends to reign, right?!

Unicorn Holiday Color Inspiration (week 2)

It's the second week of our Unicorn Holiday Color Challenge at Jingle Belles, so here's a reminder of the palette. You don't need to reference the photo... or the unicorn... as part of your inspiration; just use three (or more) of the colors placed below the graphic. You can add in neutrals, too, of course.

I couldn't decide between recreating Stephanie's amazing card from last week or using my new Simon Hurley create Tangled Lights Layering Stencil Set; so I did a bit of both! I used Simon's Inks in Piggyback, Prom Queen, Love Bomb, Over Zealous and Cry Baby for the lights; with some Black Widow for the cords and sockets.

Then I used a set of nested dies to make the four graduated circles from Stephanie's design. I considered a yeti... or a narwhal... even Hello Kitty; but in the end I chose the snow person from Simon's North Pole Sentiments set from Spellbinders, and had fun dressing him up using scraps from the same colors of cardstock that make up the circles.

Be sure to check out Stephanie's latest card over at Jingle Belles. JB2615: Unicorn Holiday runs until next Wednesday evening, July 29th, so you have plenty of time to join the fun!

ICAD is Nearly Over? Already?!

It seems like every year of the Index Card a Day Creative Challenge goes by a little bit faster, and this year is no exception. I'm planning to savor the remaining time... one 3x5 card at a time! Here are the most recent seven:

Day 50: Off-Prompt (Mandala Monday)

Layers cut from scraps of patterned paper, with minimal outlining, on my last red index card.

  Day49: Street

Possibly the most literal collage I've ever made! I love how this came out, but my one regret is that the four different street maps I pieced together very carefully, so that the big routes joined up with each other, can literally not be seen AT ALL after I layered the car, index, compass, etc, on top. Ah, well. 

Day 48: Margin

Admittedly a very tangential take on #dyicad2026 Day 48's prompt of #margin in that really only a thicker black line forms the margin between each of my layered, rainbow doodle circles.

Day 47: Backgammon

Circling back to the prompt I skipped on Mandala Monday, with a funky, hand-cut, rainbow version of a backgammon board.

Day 46: Farmer's Market

Technically speaking, I've never seen any PLAID flowers at any Farmer's Market I've ever attended but... a girl can dream, right? Brush markers and Letter It Fineliners on the unlined back of an index card.

Day 45: Thunderstorm

This card has all the ingredients I love: hand-cutting, hand-stitching, and a whimsical approach to the prompt. That said, I can't say I love the finished product very much; but it was fun to make and tomorrow is another #dyicad2026 day!

Day 44: Pewter or Steel

I started out with the pocket watch, the sundial and some of the cogs; thinking, basically "metal circles". Then I found other circles (blackwork lace, celtic knots, horoscope wheels, stylized flowers, geometric patterns, etc) at which time it kind of morphed into "circles of various origin" and I'm fine with that. Let's call this one, "Pewter OR Steel... and Friends"!

Bold and Bubbly Enamel Accents Card

What's black and white and dimensional all over? Ranger's Glossy Accents! I'd love for you to hop over to my latest Ranger Project Tutorial and see how I've used them with Make-It Stencils and Stamps, plus bold pops of Archival Ink to add texture and shine to this bold and bubbly greeting.

SOS578: Popsicle Colors

There's a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash! For "Popsicle Colors" we'd like to see cards made using this bold and beautiful Summer Color Palette; OR you can make a card inspired by the pretty popsicle photo from which we took the colors:

I did both... sort of...

I used Distress Oxide Inks in Kitsch Flamingo, Shaded Lilac and Salvaged Patina over a resist of text that I white-embossed. The ink colors are stacked, a bit like the layers of the popsicles, but I let them blend at the joins. For the focal point, I added paper flowers to which I applied the same three inks to the centers, then topped with some Eyelet Outlet Round Brads in coordinating shades. Deep, deeeeep in my stash I found a pink and blue pastel "Say it in Pearls" flourish from Prima, which needed to be trimmed and repositioned to fit on the cardfront. A teal mat and some machine stitching complete the design.

Be sure to visit SOS to the the rest of the Crew cards; then start planning what you will make using these deliciously cool Popsicle Colors. This challenge runs until the evening of Monday, July 27th.

I Can, Therefore ICAD

Another week of July has FLOWN past like... a thing that flies past really quickly! Thus, it is time for another Index Card a Day update. And here it comes............ riiiiiiiiight NOW!

Day 43: Off-Prompt

It's a black and white Mandala Monday with lots of detailing and a largely symmetrical design. If you're wondering why I usually start in a corner or otherwise let most of my mandalas go "off the page" it's because I admire symmetry, but don't particularly enjoy drawing it. Also, I think that on anything except a square or round substrate, a complete 360 mandala just doesn't fill the page as interestingly. 

BTW, my very favorite mandala making accessory is the aqua-colored round thing in the background of this photo. It's official name is the Helix Circle and Angle Maker and @smilynstef found this one when we were in a cool stationery shop on the Upper East Side of NYC... but they sell them at other art supply and office supply stores and That Big Online Store, too.

The pens are Letter It Fineliners from @Ranger_Ink and they're my go-to pens. They come in a few different sets of colors, but the set of three black pens with different sized nibs are my most used. I believe they might be the only brand of fineliners I've used where I've never once killed a nib. (This is a Big Deal in my world!!!) 

Day 42: Casino

Some years ago visited the Neon Museum and Boneyard in Las Vegas and it was absolutely amazing. No disrespect to the functioning casinos on the Old Strip and the New Strip; but whenever anyone says "Las Vegas" or "Casino" I think of all the fabulous, colorful-but-rusty, de-commissioned neon signs on that property; and the wonderful storeies the guide told on the tour. Rather than try to reproduce a single sign, I've done a sort of macro mashup of the colors and shapes from the Stardust, the Dunes and the Golden Nugget... with some Laureny imagination added in for good measure.

Day 41: Favorite _______

Having utterly failed in an attempt to pick ONE favorite thing, I decided to do a bit of a mash-up of some current faves. So here's my favorite backyard animal, the fox; sitting on a background of my favorite art form, collage; there are some roses (my favorite flower); and a butterfly (my favorite insect) sticker (my favorite embellishment); the texty sky and cloud backdrop is from one of my favorite digital collages; I used it to fill up the sheet while printing graduation photos of some of my favorite people, my nieces and nephew. I photographed the card against a vintage needlepoint picture my aunt gave me, because interesting/ unusual staging is also my favorite.

Day 40: Frost

It's been very hot and humid here in NJ, which is absolutely the only time I ever think fondly about SNOW!!! I made an inky. blendy background with a few shades of Archival Ink and some rubbing alcohol; let it dry; then used several sizes of white Posca pens to draw stylized flakes. I tried very very hard NOT to outline everything with a black Letter It Fineliner, but at the last minute I caved, lol.

Day 39: Harmony

 Here's a collage card that I started with the "harmony" prompt at the forefront of my mind; but it doesn't show up very much in the finished collage. Which is fine... I like how it turned out... I suppose the design is fairly "harmonious"? ICAD is about exploration and having fun sooooo... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Day 38: Blue

Sometimes I just want to cut out shapes from patterned paper, stack them, and maybe outline some of the design elements. If loving that is wrong... I don't wanna be right.

Day 37: Origami

It's my first One Staple Collage of July... and already one of my favorites! I've stacked some torn metallic origami paper; the copyright page from a Japanese language book; the label from the metallic origami paper; a pagoda and crane fan from some fancy Japanese-themed origami paper; and the diagram of an origami crane from yet another set of origami paper; all on top of a yellow index card to which I applied some ancient and imperfect rub-on transfers. As usual, I've made the single staple which holds everything together nearly impossible to see (sorry!) but it's just about in the center of the crane diagram.

Make-It Stamps: Fun with Fruit Card

What's fun, fresh and full of summer flavor? Make-It's Fun with Fruit Stamp Set! I'd love for you to visit the Ranger Project Tutorials Page and follow along as I pair the fabulous fruit with seven (7!) shades of Ranger's colorful Embossing Powder (there are over 50 in total); then create a dynamic gingham background using the Make-It Slanted Stencil with bold Archival Inks on this super summery card. ♥

Flatlands (Week 2)

Just a reminder that for this fortnight's Flat Feliz Navidad prompt at Jingle Belles, we're asking that you make a one layer (some call it "no layer") card; which means that everything should be directly on the card base, with no additional layers on top of that. If you're not sure, you can't go wrong by NOT taping or gluing anything on. We're looking for completely flat cards this time! Which is quite challenging for some of us, but a great skill to practice periodically.

This week, I got out my Simon Hurley Bold Holiday Blooms background stamp. It’s one of the great Ranger "Peel Apart" stamps that you can use either as a whole 6x6 background; or remove some of the flowers out and stamp them on their own; which is what I’ve done this time. I stamped the big poinsettias in Simon’s Prom Queen Stellar Ink; and stamped the smaller ones in Rosy Cheeks. I’ve got a small branch from Penny Black’s Nature’s Garlands set; and a sentiment from Taylored Expressions’ Flip the Snowflake set. When I finished stamping, I added some big and small dots with my Zig Dot Markers, et voila! Job done.

This challenge runs until next Wednesday evening, June 17th. Link up your fabulous flat cards at Jingle Belles!

Ranger Bold Birthday

Make-It's Bold Birthday Stamp Set and Bold Shapes Stencil definitely live up to their name. In fact, the only conceivable downside to these sets, imo, is that there are almost too many ways to use them. (For the record, this is my favorite kind of "problem"!) I'd love for you to hop over to the Ranger Project Tutorials Page and follow along as I add Bold Archival Ink Color to the mix; for a birthday card that I'm pretty sure will brighten anyone's day.

SOS574: Congratulations

Graduation and wedding season is upon us, so the new challenge at Shopping Our Stash is especially timely. We'd like to see CONGRATULTIONS cards: for any occasion, in any style, using any items from your stash. Then you can congratulate yourself on being ready for the next big occasion!

I raided my stash of older Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi stamps, including Delightful Art; as well as some of my favorite shades from Wendy's signature Archival Ink collection. I found that cool green leafy overstamped panel AND the pale blue embossed piece in my box of leftover bits; the silver dragonfly brads are from The Ink Pad (♥♥♥!) years and years ago; the two yellow mats are from my stash. 

"SOS574: Congratulations" runs until the evening of Monday, June 1st. Hop over to SOS to see the inspiring Crew cards and start planning what you'll link up with us this time.

Flowery Bags Are My Bag, Baby!

I have always loved elaborate giftwrapping, stencils and inks... so here's a post that combines all of the above:

I used an ancient hollyhocks stencil on an 8 x10"(ish) white gift bag from the big box store. I applied Simon Hurley's pale pink Rosy Cheeks dye ink from Ranger to the entire flower and blended some darker pink Prom Queen into the centers. 

To make the flowers stand out more prominently, I put a soft shadow to the righthand side of each stalk with a medium grey brushmarker, then added messy outlines with a Letter It Fineliner. Sunflower Stickles centers and a scattering of Eyelet Outlet Clear Jewel Bling; because let's face it, a little bling is almost ALWAYS a good idea!

Pink ribbon, white tulle, a sparkly butterfly and a card with a coordinating envelope complete this Mother's Day gift bag design.