Wrap It Up

I love fancy giftwrapping all year round... but I go all out for Christmas. As a papercrafter, I have LOTS of paper scraps, diecuts, texture paste, ink, bling and washi tape... all of which comes in very handy for wrapping and making unique gift bags!

Five Faves of 2025: Jingle Belles Edition

My 2025 Jingle Belles cards stand out as the year when I managed to make the fewest cards that needed a padded mailer and $7 worth of postage* go me! To read more about any of these choices, click the link underneath each card, which will take you to the original posts.

JB2506: Get Your Grinch On

(make a predominantly green card)

JB2507: Flat Feliz Navidad

(make a one-layer card; traditionally my bete noir, but this time I loved this one AND my week two card as well!)

JB2510: Christmas Bells, Those Christmas Bells

(make a card that features one or more bells)

JB2515: Treeskirt Tic-Tac-Toe

(incorporate three consecutive items on the provided crafty tic-tac-toe board)

JB2517: The Spirit of Christmas Past

(make a card that's vintage in style, or uses vintage elements)

♥♥♥

Jingle Belles festivities will resume on January 1, 2026 and YOU are invited to join the fun; hope to see you at then! In the meantime, check out Stephanie's picks on the official JB Five Faves post!

I am always a bit torn on the issue of "going postal" because I really loooooooooove big, lumpy, bumpy heavy cards; but am increasingly disenchanted by the cost of mailing them. My mission for 2026 is to continue finding ways of making flatter, more postage-friendly cards that I truly love!

Decor Galore

Wishing everyone who is celebrating today, your merriest Christmas yet! If you're not celebrating, then I hope you have an Especially Nice Thursday. Either way, here's a whole bunch of holiday decor coming your way! ♥♥♥

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone who is celebrating a calm and peaceful Christmas Eve, followed by the happiest of holidays! This card features a wreath sporting Eyelet Outlet Poinsettia and Holly Brads, and is set on a background of beautiful Holiday Garland Washi Tape.

Shopping List:

Poinsetti Brads

Holly Brads

Holiday Garland Washi Tape.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from everyone at Eyelet Outlet!

♥♥♥

Ornamental Mandala Monday

'Twas the Mandala Monday before Christmas, and thus it seems the perfect time for Dylusions Dyamond Boards... )Small Trees and Small Stars, to be exact) ...zen-doodled with my Letter It Fineliners, o'course! These are going to be tags on a few holiday presents; there is a possibility I will add a bit of color first, but I want to see them next to the wrapped gifts before deciding. 

In the meantime, I hope your Week Before Christmas is off to a productive and stress-free start! ♥

TREE-mendous

Christmas trees are always colorful, but their foliage is usually only available in green. Which is fine in real life, but in art life, we might like to consider a few additional options. Luckily I have a nice palette of Ranger's Perfect Pearls, which, when mixed with a bit of water become the loveliest, sparkliest sheer watercolor paints you can imagine.

These trees were inspired by an Instagram post by @andrea.nelson.art in which she painted a piece of watercolor paper with streaky colors; then added some gold acrylic. After the sheet was dry, she hand-cut triangle trees, circle ornaments and funky letters. 

I followed her lead, but used my Perfect Pearls as the paints. (Note, when mixed with water, you don't need to use Perfect Medium and the PPs do not need to be "set" afterward!) Since I knew I wanted to make a bunch, my trees are slightly larger and diecut with Memory Box's Marvelous Pine die. (It's retired... sorry ...but literally ANY tree die; or the aforementioned handcut triangles, will work really well.)

I went with four colorways: Pink (obviously!), Purple, Blue and ok yeah Green is admittedly a nice color for trees, so why not? I used multiple shades of each color and painted them in random stripey swooshes. I initially left a bit of white on each panel so that, when the colors were dry, I could come back in with Perfect Gold. (You can add the gold while your colors are wet, but I felt it stood out more when done as a separate step.) 

After all the panels were dry, I did the diecutting; and now they are ready to be used in... a couple of very cut projects I will show you later this week! ;)

PS: If you haven't seen @andrea.nelson.art in action, I insist you hop over and check out a post or two. In addition to being a fantastic artist (and a very good teacher!) she's a sunny, bubbly, sparkly person and her videos are fast, fun, colorful and inspiring. (Warning: there's a pretty good chance you'll get hooked on watercolor and want to make EVERYTHING she demos ASAP, so plan accordingly lol!)

Surfin' Santa

Santa's taking a break from all the holiday prep to enjoy a bit of surfing, and maybe a few treats, too.  Santa's tropical island has am Eyelet Outlet Tall Palm Tree Brad behind a Sandcastle; and Santa's brought a Candy Cane Brad along, just in case he needs extra energy. The background features Gingerbread Washi and Ho Ho Ho Tape, adorned with Gingerbread and Peppermint Candy Brads. Surf's up!

Surfin' Santa's Shopping List:

Tall Palm Tree Brads

Sandcastle Brads

Candy Cane Brads

Gingerbread Brads

Peppermint Candy Brads

Gingerbread Washi

Ho Ho Ho Tape

The Eyelet Outlet Store has all the embellishments you (and Santa!) need for fabulous holiday cards and decor!

SOS563: My Sweet Embossable You

This fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we'd like to see cards and projects that feature pressure embossing, heat embossing or both. The can be any size, shape, theme or color, just make sure they've got a bit of whatever sort of embossing you like!

I couldn't decide which kind of embossing to do, so I compromised by doing both! I stamped Wendy Vecchi's Perfect Plaid with Ranger's clear Emboss It Ink, sprinkled on their White Embossing Powder, and then blended some of my favorite green Distress Oxide shades (Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio and Evergreen Bough) in a sort of mirror-image ombre effect. I used Wendy's Flowers and Foliage 3D Embossing Folder (it's on sale at Spellbinders!) then tore a section to put on top. Since I had everything out for heat embossing, I embossed the big floral bouquet from the Garden Party Stamp, Die and Stencil set and colored it with coordinating (Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo and Picked Raspberry) Oxides.

SOS563: My Sweet Embossable You runs until the evening of Monday, December 29th. Hop over to Shopping Our Stash to see what the rest of the Crew have made and to link up your own Embossed creation!

More Modrian Mandala Monday

Probably the last Mondrian Mandala Monday of 2025, so once again I'd like to thank Becca Sadler for coming up with her brilliant Mondrian Monday Journal Page thread... and not minding when I hijacked it from time to time with my own mandala-centric version! ♥

Bookmarks!

Sometimes I wonder if I like making bookmarks because it's an excuse to give books as gifts... or if I like giving books because it's an excuse to make bookmarks. But since both are true, I suppose it doesn't matter, lol.

I've made A LOT of bookmarks in the last few years, a fact which is mysteriously somehow NOT apparent by clicking the BOOKMARKS label in my blog, but there are a couple of goods ones there, made from stamping, collage or washi tape. Collaged bookmarks miiiiiight be my favorite, though, so that's what I used on these. Often I just put a plain piece of paper on the back, but these happen to be double-sided, because, as usual, I had gotten out and fussycut waaaaaaaay too many images and it seemed a pity not to use them.

I'm taking a tiny bit of extra pride in the fact that the bits of vintage map I used happen to feature places near where the two recipients have lived. Also, I broke out my vintage bus tickets and my greenstamps... both of which make any collage even better, imo!

Winter Wildlife Ornament Tags

As the holidays approach, we don't just need cards, we need tags, too. And if they're Dylusions' Bauble Shaped Dyamond Boards adorned with Eyelet Outlet brads and washi, so much the better! These bauble-shaped beauties feature EO Snowflake Brads, Moose, Polar Bears and Deer; all set in a sparkly landscape of Glitter Winter and Glitter Tall Trees Tape.

Winter Wildlife Shopping List:

Snowflake Brads

Moose Brads

Polar Bear Brads

Deer Brads

Glitter Winter Tape

Glitter Tall Trees Tape

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Online Store to find all the bards, tapes, flowers, enamels, bling and sequins you could possibly need; for the holidays and beyond!

The Best Place for SNOW...

 ...is on holiday cards. In this case, it's a Superior Snowflake Mandala Monday and I'm very much hoping it's the ONLY snow I see this week!!! ;) I'll let you decide if you'd like to see actual snow in your location or not. 

Wrapping Up...

...the 2025 Jingle Belles season with the traditional photo of ALL my cards. Jingle Belles will return on January 1, 2026 for another year of inspiration, fun and getting cards DONE! We'd love for you to join us then!

If you're not quite finished making, be sure to hop over and see Stephanie's collection of gorgeous greetings from the year. We've also put up a Linky that will run until Christmas Eve, where you can post your cards and take inspiration from others!

Dylusions Reusable Nesting Gift Boxes

One of my favorite ways to stretch my supplies (and my budget!) is making my own "fancy" gift bags and boxes. It's a lot of fun, and let's face it, I already have ALL the ingredients, because papercrafting supplies are ideal for gift wrapping, too. Today I'm up on the Ranger Project Tutorials Page, using Archival Inks, Stickles and Liquid Pearls to adorn a set of three Dylusions Nesting Boxes. I'd love for you to check it out!

Snow Globes Galore

What's cuter than half a dozen snow globes? Half a dozen snow globes featuring Eyelet Outlet holiday brads! This selection features Santa and Mrs. Claus Brads, a Sleigh, and super-cute Caroler Brads.  

Shopping List:

Santa and Mrs. Claus Brads

Sleigh Brads

Caroler Brads

Let your cards sing out with holiday cheer using Eyelet Outlet brads and embellishments!

SOS562: Forever Young

There's a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and this time we're making kid-themed cards. Which just happen to be one of my favorite cardmaking sub-genres, so without further ado, here's my card:

I've had MFT's Rainbows and Unicorns stamp and die set for ages, and can never resist an excuse to use it. Often I paper-piece it, but this time I was in the mood to color, so I did. I'm not sure how many pieces of Simple Stories' Puddle Jumper patterned paper I have owned, but I'm pretty confident I've never used it whole... I just like cutting out the clusters of whimsical clouds! This card is destined for a grand-niece with a January birthday, so for once I'm ahead of the game! 

Head on over to Shopping Our Stash to see the adorable young-at-heart cards our Crew have made to inspire you, then start planning your own kid-centric creation. SOS562: Forever Young runs until the evening of Monday, December 15th.

Ornament-al Mandala Monday

My mom and I always decorate the Vintage Ornament Tree on Thanksgiving weekend* and of course it reminded me how much I love Christmas ornaments generally, vintage ones specifically, and whimsical zendoodle ones in my imagination!

I used my Letter It Fineliners to create all the shapes and doodles; and my Simon Hurley Stellar Inks with a waterbrush to add the bold, saturated color.

I hope your December is off to a good start and that it'll just keep getting better!

*The tree is artificial, bought several years ago during a BIG Black Friday sale at Balsam Hill, so there are no worries about it lasting until January; btw, we do also get a real tree in December because who can resist the scent?! 

JB2524: Blog Banner Inspiration

It's the final week of the 2025 Jingle Belles season (no worries, we'll be back on January 1, 2026!) and thus here is one more card inspired by our 2025 Jingle Belles Blog Header:

Here's what I made this week:

I had planned to use all of the elements from the banner, but put them on an all-white card this week, Thus I set about diecutting Spellbinders Bottle Brush Trees and Sunny Studio Snowflakes from various types of white cardstock. As I was getting ready to make my mostly-white background, I happened to find this torn and stitched panel that I must've made last year some time and not used, and it was EXACTLY the right size! Plus, it kind of looked like rolling hills to me; and also had the same tealish, blueish, greenish shades as the blog header... (plus a bunch of pink and brown bokeh too) ...and I thought, "All-righty then, job done!".

You have until next Wednesday evening, December 3rd, to link up your own Jingle Belles Blog Banner Inspired card and we'd love for you to do just that!

Gnome Sweet Gnome

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the USA, and whether you are staying home, heading home or missing home, we wish you a wonderful day. This card, featuring Eyelet Outlet Gnome Brads, Girl Gnomes, Sunflowers, Pumpkins, Sun and Cloud Brads, Mini Ladybugs and Autumn Washi Tape is all about celebrating the things that make holidays special: family, friends and a cozy Gnome Sweet Gnome. 

Gnome-tastic Shopping List:

Gnome Brads

Girl Gnome Brads

Sunflower Brads

Pumpkin Brads

Sun and Cloud Brads

Mini Ladybug Brads

Autumn Washi Tape

All the best embellishments are in the Eyelet Outlet Online Store, which is open 24/7 for convenient shopping without leaving YOUR Home Sweet Home! Stamped images are from Sunny Studio's Homes Sweet Gnome set.

Collage Mandala

It's a very vintage, completely collage-ical Mandala Monday before Thanksgiving; I hope you are happy healthy and looking forward to the week ahead!

Cut-Pages Doodle Spread

A couple of weeks ago I cut into a page of my Dina Wakley Kraft Journal in order to put this zen-doodle pumpkin on a background page of orange patchwork. It left the remains of an interestingly curvy border that I had been planning to remove. In the meantime I saw a couple of art journal pages on social media, where the artist had cut into a page or two, then treated that group of pages as a single spread. And I thought, "OOOOH! I have to try that!" So I did!

As you can see, I was having so much fun with the idea, that I cut waves into two additional pages. I had thought about doing layered collage or stamps or stencils... but in the end, I just grabbed my Posca Pens and had a doodle-fest.

I added different shapes to each page, but repeated the colors and a few of the patterns on more than one page. 

I tried to take advantage of the shape of the cuts, but not to let them dominate. I also found the layers most interesting when there was strong contrast between the pages.

I outlined the doodles with my Letter It Fineliners and added a little bit of Jet Black Archival to the edges to make them stand out.

And... here we are back at the beginning again. I had a lot of fun with this technique, so I suspect you'll be seeing it again before too long!