While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

Time for a new prompt at Jingle Belles, and this time we're celebrating the creatures of Christmas: by which we mean the "traditional" types of animals (sheep, reindeer, camels, etc) OR go a bit silly and incorporate yetis, monsters, unicorns or... well, you get the idea! 

I went semi-traditionally; or at least, I've chosen animals that actually exist, lol, namely the moose, narwhal and walrus from Lawn Fawn's Critters in the Arctic. I really like paper-piecing these guys, so that's what I did here. I built a little winter landscape for them to inhabit; then all I needed was a diecut sentiment and a few snowflakes et voila!

JB2622: While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks runs until the evening of Wednesday, November 4th. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's card and link up your own critter-centric masterpiece(s)! PS: There's a little prize on offer for one random cardmaker... just sayin'...

Hocus Pocus

It's almost Halloween so the big question on everyone's mind is: WITCH way to the candy? This card has an Eyelet Outlet Pumpkin Brad adorned with Witch Legs and a Witch Hat, on a background strewn with sweets including almost-good-enough-to-eat Candy Corn Brads.

Happy Halloween Shopping List:

Pumpkin Brads

Witch Leg Brads

Witch Hat Brads

Candy Corn Brads

The Eyelet Outlet Store has all the magic you need to make fab and funky Halloween cards, WITCH-ever way you want!

SOS585: If the SHOE Fits

You may well have already guessed that the new challenge at Shopping Our Stash is to make a card that has SHOES on it; in which case, YAY... I can get right to my card:

I built my whole card around the nearly-full pack of Eyelet Outlet Shoe & Purse Brads* I had in my stash, thus the predominance of black, pink and white in my design. The grid paper (excellent for lining up a sticker sentiment and lots of brads without measuring!) is ancient Authentique; and the floral is even ancient-er Teresa Collins. Both sets of foam alphabets are older American Crafts, but still in good shape, adhesive-wise.

Be sure to walk on over to SOS in your nicest shoes, see all the Crew Cards, and start planning what you'll link up with us this time! SOS585: If the SHOE Fits runs until the evening of Monday, November 2nd.

*Shoe & Purse Brads are just one of the many deeply discounted styles in the Eyelet Outlet Store; inventory is selling down fast ahead of Suzanne and Tony's December retirement, so stock up on all your faves TODAY!

Another Coloring Book Mandala? (YES!)

But this time I colored AND cut out bits... from two different coloring books. Not to brag, but I love this whole strand; and I especially love how this one came out! Dragon Mandalas miiiiiiight just be the next big thing! ♥

In case you were wondering, these are the coloring books in question. The mindfulness one was gifted to me (thank you, Stephanie!) and the dragon one was from a garage sale.

Hope your week is off to a roaring great start!

Pink Christmas (Week 2)

Over at Jingle Belles, we're still creating predominantly PINK holiday cards, and we'd love for you to do so, as well, since this is the fortnight where Stephanie and I each donate $2 per linked-up card to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, so if you're only going to join us at Jingle Belles for ONE challenge, let it be this one!

Here's my pink card this week:

Frank Garcia's Candy Cane Lane collection for Prima Marketing might be my all-time favorite Pink Christmas set; it came out in 2022 and I've used the heck out of it ever since/ Luckily, I still had a few goodies left, like the adorable Santa journal card, and that pretty pink floral background with metallic accents. I paired those items with some pink washi; oversized Pink Stippled Jewel Brads from Eyelet Outlet attaching ancient velvetty flowers; and a mat I ran through Dina Wakley's Stars and Fronds 3D Embossing Folder. IRL, this card has more texture and more sparkle than you can see in the photo, but, I guess you'll have to take my word for that!

JB2621: PINK Christmas runs until the evening of next Wednesday, October 21st. Link as many newly made, predominantly PINK holiday cards as you possibly can at Jingle Belles before then!

FANG-tastic!

Halloween is just around the corner, and Eyelet Outlet Bat Brads are just what you need to make fun, FANG-tastic cards! The background and all the brads on this card are black, so the colorful sentiment (in costume for the holiday with a Mustache Brad and a Witch Hat) stands out even more. Which of your friends would go batty for this greeting?

Fangtastic Shopping List:

Bat Brads

Mustache Brads

Witch Hat Brads

There are lots more styles of Halloween Brads in the Eyelet Outlet Store; stock up on your faves today!

Watercolors and Rub-Ons

I've definitely re-fallen in love with rub-on transfers; the Dina Wakley MEdia ones from Ranger are, imo, especially beautiful AND they rub-on perfectly; I will continue to acquire every new set she releases. On the other hand, I still have quite a few old school rub-ons, some of which work better than others, so I've devised a few ways to use them... even when you don't know beforehand what condition they're in. One way is to add them almost randomly to a collage or a mixed media piece that has a bit of a grunge or vintage feel. Because, if they work well: Excellent, they look like they did in the package! If they don't work well: Excellent, they add to the grunge/imperfection vibe!

Another way is to use them with watercolors, as a resist. You add white rub-ons to white watercolor paper, then paint over top of them. That's what I did this time. I stuck a fun horoscope sticker at the top of my watercolor panel, drew the basic mandala outlines around it with a Letter It Fineliner, then used a bunch of different leftover rubs, which I cut into fragments, and added randomly to the background and to some of the petals. Then I painted blues and purples which coordinated with the sticker, let the whole ting dry, touched up the original lines where necessary and sewed it to a mat and then my A6 card. 

And just like that... other Mandala Monday is in the bag! ♥