Stars or Stripes (Week 2)

At Jingle Belles, it's our second week of Stars or Stripes, Forever; plus we are also the "Twisted Sister" option on the Double Trouble Challenge Blog's Christmas in July event, where there is a basic recipe: (three colors + two layers + one holiday image) required for all entries at Double Trouble. Then there's a TWIST: to add Stars and/or Stripes and also link with us at Jingle Belles. Then there's a DARE: to use one of two sketches from Try a Sketch on Tuesday.

Remember, you only need Stars or Stripes for Jingle Belles, but if you're up for a bigger challenge, consider hopping over to Double Trouble for all the details!

My card has ALL of the above:

I used one of the sketches from Try a Sketch on Tuesday (see below); I also incorporated the basic recipe from Double Trouble: three colors (red, green and blue); two layers (blue and striped papers from Basic Grey) and one or more holiday images (a cluster of MME diecuts). And of course I've got stripes and stars (admittedly just two stars lol) for our own Jingle Belles challenge. Woohoo!

Do hop over and check out Double Trouble's Christmas in July event, as well as Try a Sketch on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, at Jingle Belles, JB2614: Stars OR Stripes, Forever (for which you need only... as the title says... stars OR stripes!) runs until next Wednesday evening, July 15th.

Always Be Yourself

Eyelet Outlet Unicorn and Rainbow Brads have always been awesome, but they're even better on sale! Here they're paired with our tiniest (1/16") Round Brads to enhance a big chunky sentiment.

Enchanted Unicorn Shopping List:

Unicorn and Rainbow Brads

 1/16" Round Brads

Just a reminder that the Eyelet Outlet Online Store is going to close on December 31, 2026, so if you haven't checked out the inventory lately, this is the ideal time: loads of brad styles are on sale, but so far only a few have sold out completely. Stock up on your favorites now!

This Was the Week That Was (aka ICAD Round-Up)

We've passed the halfway point of @indexcardaday and here are my ICADs from the first full week of July:

Day 36: Biomorphic Shapes

(also Mandala Monday)

My first attempt at a mandala using only biomorphic shapes is... semi-successful? It's not what I envisioned, but it is an interesting mash-up of mandala... microscope slide... and Keith Haring mural. So I'm gonna call it a win and move on to the next thing.

Day 35: Seaweed

I'm definitely into handcutting again this year; and also I keep seeing really cute ceramics projects with funky, adorable fish. When I made this last week, it just had fish on a wavy-water background and I felt like it needed "one more thing" but I didn't know what. When I saw the #seaweed prompt it all fell into place!

Day 34: Picnic

It’s a very silly take on picnic for featuring handcut letters (from my first attempt at stenciling "gingham" via my last Ranger Tutorial) and Eyelet Outlet Ant Brads.

Day 33: Off-Prompt

When I started this, I thought it was going to be a mandala... and then it sort of morphed into a modified 1960's-inspired paisley(ish) Pucci(ish) extravaganza of handcutting. 

Potato, Po-TAH-to.

Day 32: Tetris

I went at the "Tetris" theme a bit tangentially by making a colorful mosaic effect with rainbow scraps of patterned paper. It was surprisingly fun to make and thus I wouldn't rule out another version coming along later!

 

Day 31: Change

I had the idea of coinage, expressed as circles stenciled in neutral tones of Archival Inks. I added hand-stitching with silver embroidery floss. I feel like it needs more? or less? or… something… but I have no idea what. So I decided to leave it here and move on to the next idea. That’s the great thing about #ICAD there’s always tomorrow!

Day 30: Pistachio or Green

Technically, this was yesterday's prompt, but since yesterday was Mandala Monday, I slid it over for a day. I had so much fun with the #scarlet prompt a few weeks ago, that I decided to do a similar version of a grid collage; this time with all things green. As you can see, I had a few leftovers!

JB2614: Stars and/or Stripes, Forever

It's July third, which sets the stage for the new challenge at Jingle Belles, Stars and/or Stripes, Forever. So I'm pretty sure you've already guessed that we'd like to see holiday cards which feature stars and/or stipes, lol; but in case there was any doubt, now you know. They don't have to be red, white and blue of course; any color you love will do just fine. The first time we did this theme, I confess I was nervous, but as a matter of fact there are LOTS of holiday papers, stamps and stencils with stripes; and stars are quite prominent for Christmas, too. There's actually quite a lot of choice. And now, without further ado, here's my starry, stripey card:

My stars and my stripes are in the form of two different (ancient!) patterned papers, the red is DCWV and the green is Carta Bella. I found half a pack of Pebbles' diecuts and made them into a cluster that connects the four background panels. There are a few elderly chipboard stars courtesy of Echo Park and the sentiment sticker is from Doodlebug.

Be sure to hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's card and start planning what you'll link up with us this fortnight. JB2614: Stars and/or Stripes, Forever runs until 6pm (Eastern) on July, 15th.

NEW Holiday Jumpstart Kit

There's a brand new Holiday Jumpstart Kit in the Paper Anthology Etsy Shop! It's called Holiday Jumpstart: A Sequence of Deer and Doilies and it looks a bit like this:

Hop over to the PA Blog to read all about it, or visit Paper Anthology Design to get your own copy of Holiday Jumpstart: A Sequence of Deer and Doilies today! 

Good Advice

Good advice is always welcome, and these sweet mini cards definitely deliver. There are eighteen garden-themed Eyelet Outlet Brads used here, from ten different sets; all of which are listed and linked below.

Garden Goodness Shopping List:

Ladybug Brads

Mini Ladybug Brads

Leaf Brads

Mini Leaf Brads

Stitched Flower Brads

White Daisy Brads

Colored Daisy Brads

Gnome 2 Brads

Girl Gnome Brads

Garden Tools Brads

Remember that, with retirement approaching at the end of 2026, items that sell out in the Eyelet Outlet Store are NOT being restocked; so be sure to stock up on your favorite brads today!

SOS577: You're So Sweet

It's time for a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash and this fortnight we're embracing all the SWEET things in life. Thus, we'd like to see something sweet on your project: it could be a sweet treat, a cute baby card, however you interpret it. As you can see, I went with "sweet treats". Of course.

Ninety percent of this card is composed of stickers; and ninety percent of the stickers are ancient, making this especially stashy, woohoo! The cake, balloons and cupcakes are Susan Branch; I couldn't tell you exactly what age they are, but they had a price tag from a craft store that closed like fifteen years ago so... old, lol. The calendar is Echo Park's Victoria Garden... not quite as old, but still quite classic. There are three styles of washi tape (kind of old); and all of the flower stickers came from a Mambi planner sticker book, circa 2022. The ledger paper background is from Crate Paper and not very old.  

SOS577: You're So Sweet runs until the evening of Monday, July 13th. Check out the other awesome Crew cards at Shopping Our Stash, and start planning what you'll link up with us this fortnight!

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. ♥

ICAD

Another week has passed, June is just about over, so here are the seven Index Cards I've made since the last ICAD round-up:

Day 29: Shibori/ Mandala Monday

Shibori was a prompt I originally skipped over, but this week I had an idea for a shibori-inspired Mandala Monday, so I've circled back. I used Archival Inks to make a rich blue background, then added all my petals and lines with a white Posca Pen. 

Day 28: Coastline

This is what I love about prompts, you can follow them wherever they lead, however tangential. Case in point: Today's #dyicad2026 prompt is #COASTLINE from which my mind drifted to BEACH... and then BOARDWALK... and then (obviously!) CONEY ISLAND! (Best not to think about it too hard, lol!)  I had a lot of fun using ALL my colors of Posca Pens and I love how this turned out. The only problem is, now that I have Coney Island inside my head I *really* want a Clam Roll from Nathan's!

Day 27: Crane

Cranes cut from an old, falling apart bird book. "Habitat" made of hexagons punched from various scraps of book paper, sheet music, etc. and edged with green ink. Even I don't really think these two concepts "go" together... and yet... I really love how this came out. So there.

Day 26: Parterre

A very very funky take on #parterre; really just an excuse to cut somewhat shrub-shaped pieces out of green patterned paper scraps. Non, je ne regrette rien.

Day 25: Penguin

Penguins cannot fly.

I cannot fly.

Therefore... I am a penguin.

Additional evidence: I wear A LOT of black, have a tendency towards embonpoint, love fish and have a rock collection. Yep. Penguin!

Penguin illustration, Archival Ink background, manual typewriting and machine stitching on the unlined back of an index card from the dollar store. Bonus points: This is a KING penguin on a ROYAL typewriter, wahey!!!

Day 24: Atrium

Flashing back to the #atrium prompt, which I skipped the week before last. Admittedly a tangential take but... you know... it's ICAD; and there's no better time in the whole creative year to be tangential, imo!

Day 23: Pomegranate

I skipped over #pomegranate yesterday in #dyicad2026 in favor of Mandala Monday, but then I did think of a fun take, and decided to circle back. One of my favorite things about @indexcardaday is that each year, there's at least one prompt I have to Google to find out what it is. A few years ago, @gypsy999 came up with #ogee and I became obsessed with elongated, repeating S-curve patterns. I confess that it never occurred to me to add stylized pomegranates to the mix... until now, lol!

Sketchy (Week 2)

It's the second week of our festive sketch challenge at Jingle Belles, so here's a reminder of the beautiful sketch Stephanie has devised to inspired us. Remember you can stretch, compress, flip or rotate the sketch; just make sure we can still see the bones of it! 

Here's my card:

I only have a couple of Penny Black's pre-printed Masterpieces Made Simple journal cards left, but luckily one of them was landscape oriented, because I wanted to rotate the sketch this time. I found this stencil-printed piece of white on dark blue cardstock in my "ufo" box and loved the way the colors and branches sort of echoed the background of the deer illustration. I added a strip of glitter silver tape to serve as the strong line inside the sketch, and a small glittery snowflake is swapping in for the circle piece. The tiny white pearls get a little bit lost in the white branches at the bottom left, but the ones on the top right show up well. Finally I chose a Tim Holtz Idea-Ology wordfetti sticker as my sentiment, and placed it towards the top of the snowscape scene.

JB2613: 'Twas the Sketch Before Christmas runs until next Wednesday evening, July 1st. Details and Linky Tool are over at Jingle Belles.

Garden Scene

Journal cards are a fantastic shortcut for cardmakers and Eyelet Outlet Brads make them even more beautiful. This card has twelve brads from six different sets... can you spot them all? (Hint: there are examples below the card to help you!) Check out the Handy Shopping List, below, to see if you're right.

Handy Shopping List:

Rose Brads

Colored Daisy Brads

Garden Tools Brads

Rabbit Brads

Dragonfly Brads

Female Cardinal Brads

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Online Store to find all of these selections... and so much more!

More Index Cards? Yup.

Time for the past week's ICAD, in reverse order, starting with today... aka... Mandala Monday!

Day 22: Off-Prompt

I haven't made a sticker mandala in a bit, so this was a lot of fun. For the limited space of an index card, it's definitely better to choose smaller stickers; luckily, I can never resist those sheets of tiny kawaii stickers, and these little puffy unicorns were perfect. I also used some rainbows, and a cute donut for the center; but for every "themed" sticker, there are a bunch of circles, triangles and hearts filling in the spaces and creating a nice base for the fancier ones to shine!

Day 21: Moon

I've gone very literal this time and combined part of a moon map… an astrological calendar… a moonflower… and my new favorite quote.

Day 20: Strata or Stripes

Or, in this case, Strata WITH Stripes... and Stitching!

Day 19: Liminal Space

From Merriam-Webster: Liminal is a word for the in-between. It describes states, times, spaces, etc., that exist at a point of change—a metaphorical threshold—as in “the liminal zone between sleep and wakefulness.” The idea of a threshold is at the word’s root; it comes from Latin limen, meaning “threshold.” Limen has served as the basis for a number of other English words, including eliminate (“to cast out”), sublime (“lofty in conception or expression”), preliminary (“introductory”), and the woefully underused postliminary (“subsequent”).

Woohoo, here's my third (so far!) and favorite (so far!) One-Staple Collage of #dyicad2026 and I'm pretty pleased with how many (admittedly loose) interpretations of liminal space I've built into it; and also with the shapes of my stacked items, which have managed to use the physical space of the index card pretty well. 

Day 18: L'Elephante (Bon Jour!)

Apparently, it's my week to paperpiece cute animals? I hadn't planned to do two in a row, but that's what happened, and since a big part of the @indexcardaday fun for me is letting myself explore whatever appealing rabbit holes present themselves... I'm just going with it.  

Animal Safety Tip: IRL, it's probably a bad idea to allow elephants, however adorable, near rabbit holes, as this could be dangerous to the rabbits. (This is my attempt at a National Park Service style of funny animal caption... I think I need more practice. In the meantime, if you're not following @nationalparkservice you are not only missing really fun captions, but also great photography and loads of fascinating nature facts. So now you know.) 

Day 17: Off-Prompt

This is Francis the Fanciful Fox; handcut and pieced from scraps of patterned paper. He and I are off-prompt on Day 17 of #diycad2026 and you can find out more about the Index Card a Day Creative Challenge at @indexcardaday or @gypsy999 or both!

Day 16: Fig

Last year, our kind neighbor gave us a sprouted cutting from her fig tree (the fruit of which she generously shares with us each year) and we tended it all summer; cut it back in the fall; put it in the cool, dark cellar all winter; then brought it out in the Spring. And whaddaya know? Newton (the only name for a pet fig, imo!) survived and started getting leaves right away this Spring; he’s already grown bigger than last year and has lots more leaves, as you can see in the photo. We’re hoping to plant him outdoors at the end of the summer, then cover and wrap when the temps go down in the fall.

JB2613: 'Twas the Sketch Before Christmas

One of my favorite prompts each Jingle Belles year is the Sketch Challenge because the sketch is always devised by Stephanie and it's always awesome. And guess what? This one is no exception! See?

You can stretch, smoosh, flip or rotate the sketch; just make sure we can see "the bones"! Here's what I made:

I started by embossing Hero Arts' Christmas Rose in white on kraft cardstock; then colored the blooms with Prismacolor Pencils. I trimmed the panel to slightly smaller than journal card size, and matted on a scrap of shimmery hot pink cardstock. The background of the sketch is composed of three coordinating papers: the top and border are actually giftwrap I had saved and backed with thin cardstock; the pink stripey paper is ancient Kaisercraft. I did some machine stitching, punched a circular sentiment from another journal card, added some Eyelet Outlet White Matte Enamel Dots and called it a day. I've been very nearly 100% literal in my interpretation of the sketch, though I did have to move the sentiment circle as it was covering up too much of my fancy coloring!

JB2613: 'Twas the Sketch Before Christmas runs until the evening of Wednesday, July 1st. Link your cards at Jingle Belles.

CELEBRATE!

Is it possible to add too many Eyelet Outlet Brads to one 6" square birthday card? Nope. Colorful squares and alphabet diecuts or stickers make a fun base that lets you customize a greeting with brads representing all the things your friends and family members love! See the handy shopping list below for the names (and links to) every one of the brads on this card.

Handy Shopping List:

Unicorn and Rainbow Brads

Mini Bee Brads

Hippo Brads

Heart Brads

Candle Brads

Emotion Brads

Party Hat Brads

Puppy Brads

Cupcake Swirl Brads

Mini Ladybug Brads

Gnome 2 Brads

Pinata Brads

Tropical Bird Brads

Believe it or not, the Eyelet Outlet Store has many, MANY more styles than are listed and shown here. You should probably go check it out!

SOS576: Summertime...

...and the living is: rather muggy, actually; at least it is here in central New Jersey at the moment. But not all of summer will be 90f and humid (...hopefullly...) so this fortnight at Shopping Our Stash we're celebrating SUMMERTIME in card form. And therefore, we'd love for you to make something that captures something you'd see or experience in that season.

My card started out beachy... (growing up in the Philadelphia suburbs, we spent many summer vacations in Wildwood, NJ; decades before "Jersey Shore" was a tv show, lol) ...so that vibe is something I think of immediately when considering Summertime. Thus I've got squares of beachy and oceany paper, plus sand dollars from Eyelet Outlet's Sea Shore Brad set. As I worked, the vibe strayed into Hawaiian territory, with yellow hibiscus flowers and tropical foliage, thanks to Lawn Fawn's Tropical Leaves and Happy Hibiscus die sets. Once that occurred, I decided "aloha" was the correct sentiment, so I diecut it from tropical paper using Altenew's Bold Alphas. 

SOS576: Summertime runs until the evening of Monday, June 29th. Visit Shopping Our Stash to see our Crew's inspiring takes on this challenge and start planning what you'll link up with us!

Index Card Round-Up

Another week of Index Card a Day (ICAD) has flown past and here are my cards, in reverse order:

Day 15: Triple Threat Mandala Monday (Off-Prompt)

This is the slowest "fast cheat" ever, lol. Lemme essplain; no there's too much... lemme sum up*: This mandala has three layers, each made on different index cards, from previous years. They were abandoned midway through due to some aspect to them I didn't love at the time. Sometimes I throw away such experiments; but sometimes I save them, because I like the basic idea and want to revisit it. In this case I like the round center "flower" with the stripey petals, but didn't like the next round of the original mandala. On the blue card, I loved the ruffles but not the original center, and I hadn't given it any background. On the bottom layer I liked the way my stencil-printed flowers kind of peter out, I like the colors... honestly I'm not sure why this didn't get posted when I made it, but whatever. So I cut away everything I didn't like and layered the rest together et voila! A two year + ten minute mandala!!!

*(Because who can resist a completely gratuitous/ random Inigo Montoya reference?! Not me.)

Day 14: Serene (One-Staple Collage)

Here's a collage that I intentionally built around the color blue. I mention "intentionally" because, as it turns out, a lot of my collages are subconsciously inspired by a color, but I'm not necessarily aware of that while working. This time I decided that blue was a #SERENE color and proceeded accordingly. All of the elements except the lotus-y flower were already cut or torn and laying on my work table or in my collage fodder box. This was going to be a regular collage and not a one-staple collage* because I honestly didn't think I could attach everything securely with a single staple but... as it turns out... I could! So here's my second OSC for 2026-- so far!

Day 13: Lucky

I had an entirely different idea in mind for the #LUCKY prompt, but when I stumbled upon this Cormac McCarthy quote, a day after randomly cutting out funky dice from an old, falling-apart book, it seemed pretty serendipitous. I genuinely believe that there are times when NOT getting what you want is the best thing that could possibly happen to you.

Day 12: Orchestra

Somewhere in the world, I'm sure there are folks who don't love the art of Richard Scarry and didn't have a childhood in which they adored books with worms driving apple-shaped cars and rabbits conducting piccolo-playing mice. But since I am definitely not that person, here is my unapologetically nostalgic card for the Day 12 #dyicad29026 (optional) prompt of ORCHESTRA. 

Day 11: Coneflower

The last few years of ICAD I've been very much into handcutting and paper-piecing... and apparently that trend continues. I think I may have given my coneflowers a few too many petals, and possibly only the colors and foliage are keeping them from looking like very fancy shuttlecocks... but... this was fun to make!

Day 10: Birch or Gingko

I just unearthed this cute little mermaid scale stamp and realized that it's pretty close to the shape of a gingko leaf; so I stamped the unlined back of a white index card with lots of beautiful green shades of  Simon Hurley Stellar Ink, drew a gingko-ish shape inside each, and decided to LEAF it at that!  (K sorry, but I can literally never resist a diabolical pun.)

Day 9: Charm

Reading the word, "charm" my first thought was of those little milagros that you find in California and Mexico, often studding a Sacred Heart, as tokens of prayers for healing or gratitude. So I decided to paper-piece my own colorful little version. I used silver metal brads instead of actual charms, for ease of attachment; and also to reduce weight. Additionally, I built the whole thing on an index card divider for extra strength.

♥♥♥

What exactly IS the Index Card a Day Creative Challenge? I'm so glad you asked! It's 61 consecutive days of making art on index cards. This is the 16th annual event, devised and hosted by the divine Tammy G aka @gypsy999 and a time of great inspiration and creativity for all, from June 1 to July 31. But honestly, there's NO bad time to ICAD, so if you're just seeing this now and think it sounds fun: JUMP IN, everyone is welcome! Check out @indexcardaday on Instagram for more info. 

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!

EGG-cellent Dad

Eyelet Outlet Bacon, Egg and Toast Brads are NOT just for breakfast anymore! Add them to a funny, punny Father's Day card, or any other EGG-cellent occasion!

EGG-cellent Shopping List

Bacon, Egg and Toast Brads

Heart Enamels

Visit the Eyelet Outlet Store to see the amazing selection of brads, bling, tapes and enamels; and be sure to check out the very inspiring Idea Gallery too!

First ICAD Round Up of 2026

The first full week of the Index Card a Day Creative Challenge is complete and here are my cards from the past seven days. For all the info about ICAD, visit the ICAD Base at Daisy Yellow Art or @indexcardaday on Instagram where you can find prompts, ideas, inspiration and more!

Day 8: Off-Prompt: Mandala Monday

This week I got some of the new Simon Hurley Stellar Ink shades from @ranger_ink so obviously, I had to test drive those babies, and Mandala Monday is always a good opportunity for that. On this card, I "smooshed" the new colors, one at a time, onto my craft sheet and used a waterbrush full of Isopropyl Alcohol to pick them up and paint the basic shapes onto my index card. 

WHY would I use rubbing alcohol instead of water to "watercolor"? Well, for reasons I'm not sciencey enough to understand, alcohol will not warp or pill cardstock or paper in the same way that water does. (For the record, this is one of the many, MANY cool things I've learned from @wendyvecchi who is brilliant as well as inspiring!) This is a valuable technique for any ink that is alcohol- or oil-based like Ranger Archivals (because water just doesn't work at all with those inks); but as it turns out, you can use it with any type of ink, including Simon's gorgeous water-based Stellars.

Once all the colorful shapes were in place I used a Letter It Fineliner and some Posca Paint Pens to add details and echo the various ink colors, which are: Buzzkill, Fruitcake, Ultraviolet, Siren Song, Cry Baby and Iced Out. And who can resist a little splatter on top?

Day 7: Seahorse

This is one of the fastest (& funnest if you'll pardon my syntax) ICADs I've ever made: I started out with the intention of drawing a stylized seahorse with brush markers... got obsessed with the colors and curly-up tails... et voila! As an absolute CHAMPION of overthinking, this feels like a huge win. Bonus celebration: if there's a "Rapunzel" prompt later this summer I can re-use it, lol! :) :) :)

Day 6: Scarlet

Is this an actual collage or just a wanna-be infographic? I don't actually know and I'm not sure it matters; because either way it does firmly encompass today's (optional) #dyicad2026 prompt of #scarlet. And I've given myself the bonus joy of staging the photo with a bunch of other gorgeous red things that didn't fit onto my gridded indexcard!

Day 5: Off-Prompt

Every year, I spend a proportion of ICAD either trying to disguise the ordinary index cards' lines or using the backs or divider cards to avoid them entirely; but once in a while, I embrace the lines and let them work for me!

Day 4: Yearbook

Weirdly enough, this yearbook photo of my Dad turned up in a box of paperwork my mom recently asked me to sort through. I say weirdly enough, because the box held mostly ancient financial and legal documents, the majority of which I shredded; but there were a few tiny treasures, including my grandfather's passport, some newspaper clippings, and this photo. So when I saw the word, "Yearbook" on the prompt list, I knew immediately what the centerpiece of my card would be. I've added part of an old map from the area where I grew up; the illustration of a slide rule (my father was an electrical engineer); a library checkout card with the name William and a bee (he went by Bill); plus a bit of foliage which honestly has no narrative significance, I just wanted some color and the map had lots of green.

Day 3: Magnolia

The One-Staple Collage (OSC) is a beloved (well by me, anyway) ICAD tradition, stretching back... gosh... maybe ten years? I'm honestly not sure when it happened, but at some point in the mists of ICAD history, Tammy G typed the words "stapled collage" and I saw them and somehow instantly determined that this would mean a collage held together by ONE STAPLE. Which, as it turns out, is harder than it sounds, lol! But... also a very interesting (again, to me) exercise in both selecting interesting elements; and then arranging them so you can see them distinctly, but still attach them at a single point. 

 In this case, the staple is right on top of the butterfly's body, and yes, it's hard to see, for which I apologize. There are only five elements. They are, from furthest back: A library catalog card; an illustration of Saturn; a Georgian building from an old architecture book; a pair of magnolia blossoms between which I deliberately left a "bridge" of paper for sturdiness; and finally the butterfly... angled so his body (and thus the staple) is positioned to be able to secure everything underneath. 

Whether or not you're a fan of traditional collage, I invite you to give this fun and challenging technique a try at some point during ICAD!

Day 2: Type

I couldn't wait to get out this ancient set of wood-mounted typewriter font alphabet stamps, I just wasn't quite sure what I would stamp, lol. One of the first things I stumbled upon (via Mr. Google) was this apt quote from Gustav Klimt. A bit of serendipity there, as I had just finished a novel in which said Austrian Symbolist painter and Vienna Secessionist was a character. So... job done!

If you're interested, the strange and wonderful book in question is Anima Rising by Christopher Moore. In addition to Klimt, the real-life figures of Egon Schiele, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung appear; as well as the fictional characters of Victor Frankenstein, his Monster and the Bride... (Klimt names her Judith) ...who is the protagonist of the book. If you've read anything by Moore, you'll know that he loves to combine well known historical figures and events with plots and characters from classic literature, drama and mythology. I enjoyed this title very much, though my top three Moore books are still: Serpent of Venice (mash up of Merchant of Venice and Othello; narrated by the Fool from King Lear... obvs...); Sacre Bleu (Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and pals, in Monmartre, late 19th century, just after the suicide --or possibly murder-- of Van Gogh); and A Dirty Job (average single dad in 20th century San Francisco somewhat unwillingly takes on a side-hustle as... wait for it... a Grim Reaper??!) BTW, all of Moore's stories are outstanding as audiobooks, which is the format I recommend for maximum enjoyment.

(NOTE: This author is definitely NOT to everyone's taste; apart from unusual plots with many literary and cultural allusions, there's generally quite a bit of hardcore cursing, as well as some sex and violence; if rated like films, Moore's books would get strong PG13 or mild R ratings.) 

Day 1: Mandala Monday (off-prompt)

Technically, this card was from last week, but as I wrote this post, it felt weird to start at Day 2, so... here it is again, lol! It's a mandala, since June first was a Monday; and it's done with Archival Ink shades and a Letter It Fineliner because those happened to be sitting out when I was ready to start. (Many of my art-making decisions are determined by what is to hand at any given time, especially ICADs which I tend to work on at 10pm; a time when "not getting up again" is, frankly, a priority.)

♥♥♥

To see my cards as the get posted each day, visit my Instagram feed, @llaurenb and while you're there, be sure to check out the official ICAD page, @indexcardaday and the official hashtag, #dyicad2026 for lots more ICAD inspo from artists all over.