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:
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?
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! ♥
It's time for one of my favorite Jingle Belles events: Pink Christmas! This is the fortnight where Stephanie and I donate $2 each 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!
Does your card have to be ALL PINK? Nope; but it should be kind of predominant.. Can you add in other colors, too? Yep. Can you link up more than one card? Yes, please! Does each card have to be in a separate post? No, we'll make sure to count however many cards you've made, whether you post them all at once or one at a time.
Here's my card:
I found this Oxide Ink-Blended panel, the large pink dotty circle, AND the "Let it Snow" flag in my leftovers box, which seems like too much serendipity to ignore. I generally position an ombre panel so that the darkest shade is on the bottom, but this time I decided to go vertical and I think it looks pretty cool. The trees and stars are from an absolutely ancient sheet of Pebbles stickers that I found when we did the sticker challenge a few weeks ago and I added tiny Doodlebug enamel hearts plus some Eyelet Outlet Snowflake Brads. Skinny white mats and YES, a PINK cardbase complete my A6 design.
JB2621: We're Dreaming of a PINK Christmas runs until the evening of Wednesday, October 21st. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's card and link as many newly made PINK holiday cards as you possibly can!
Eyelet Outlet Classic Car Brads are always a good choice, especially when paired with a fun sentiment, funky map, coordinating patterned paper, plus EO Round Brads and Classic Eyelets. This card is all revved up and ready to hit the road to celebrate a special birthday!
Check out all the goodies in the Eyelet Outlet Store today!
The new challenge at Shopping Our Stash is Halloween-themed and called, "Black Cats" so yes, one option is to include a black cat on your card; OR you could feature any other BLACK Halloween icon: bats, spiders, a witch... you get the picture, right? I focused on the cat, but there are a couple of spiders, too, as a bonus.
As soon as you say, "Black Cat" I immediately think of the adorable version in Wendy Vecchi's Halloween Add-On Stamp and Die Set from Spellbinders (btw, it's on sale!); and yes, I realize he could be any color, but my favorite way to piece him is with black sticky-back felt, as I've done here. The background is a pink spiderweb paper from Prima's Luna Collection of a few years ago; the spiders are part of Wendy's die set; the ghost is cut from a different Prima paper; and the sentiment stamp is so old I have no idea whence it came. I did a bit of machine-stitching on some of the web, as well as around the perimeter, which is very difficult to see in the photo, but pretty cool IRL.
Hop over to SOS to see the fab and funky Crew Cards, then start planning what you'll link up with us this fortnight. SOS584: Black Cats runs until the evening of Monday, October 19th.
A few weeks ago I used my Simon Hurley Stellar Inks to paint a very bold mandala in my Dina Wakley Watercolor Journal. Since I used isopropyl alcohol instead of water, it did not warp or pill the page at all, but... as sometimes serendipitously happens, a bit of the color seeped through to the reverse side of the paper. Which meant that I could basically just outline it, add additional color, et voila... two for the effort of one!
Here's a shocking true confession: I don't cook. At all. Having been lucky enough to marry a man who is, in addition to his many other fine qualities, an *awesome* cook; in 41 years, I've probably made dinner eight or nine times, and I'd estimate that six of those consisted of microwaving the leftovers of something he made in the first place. But... I do love to make CUPCAKES... out of yarn, obviously.
I grabbed some inexpensive cupcake boxes from the confectionary section of my crafty big box store, which I think really adds to the presentation. Plus, it made the cupcakes a lot easier to wrap!
*Where there's also an outstanding Neko Cat Pattern that I enjoyed making, as well!
It's the second week of our Stocking-centric fun at Jingle Belles, so we're still making cards which showcase that beloved holiday gift-giving tradition.
This week I got to use my Simon Hurley Mantel Decorations die set from Spellbinders for the first time, and I had a lot of fun. I embossed a brick background using an ancient embossing folder, cut a scrap of woodgrain paper into a mantle-shaped chunk and got down to adding dies from the set: the banners, the stockings, the large deer and greenery. Then, for some additional texture and interest to this little scene, I attached Eyelet Outlet Deer, Poinsettia, Nutcracker and Gift Brads; plus a few red Round Brads to hold the stockings and the banner.
JB2620: The Stockings Were Hung runs until next Wednesday evening, October 7th. Hop over to Jingle Belles to see what Stephanie has made this time, then link your own Stocking-centric cards, ASAP.
Halloween is a month away, but there's still time to make (and send!) some fun Halloween cards adorned with Eyelet Outlet Monster, Candy Corn and Kitten Brads.
Visit the Eyelet Outlet Store for more Halloween Brads and scroll through the Blog and the Idea Gallery for lots more all-occasion inspiration!
Last week's mandala featured repeating motifs that I cut from coloring books and arranged in a mandala design; this week I found a large mandala shape that was filled with, and surrounded by, zen-doodles. I thought it might be interesting to cut out just the large mandala, open up the center circle, and fill it with a little collage of vintage goodies. I stand by that decision!
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I hope that your week ahead will be full of cool weather and fun ideas to try!
If, like me, you have LOTS of washi tape, paper flowers and journal cards, then you also have the antidote to expensive gift bags, because all of the above are AWESOME for wrapping!
If you've already guessed that this fortnight at Jingle Belles we want to see cards which feature Christmas Stockings, then HOORAY you're right! If you're feeling ambitious, you could make a stocking-shaped card, for which we've found you some fun templates. But I elected to go with a journal card that has a stocking on it... and then I collaged lots of fun stuff around it. See?
That's an Authentique journal card from a year or two ago, and as soon as I saw it in my journal card stash, I was already pulling the colors and the vibes out for a little collage. I've got some nicely patina-ed sheet music; a page from an old Ideals Christmas magazine plus some poinsettias from another page (backed with cardstock and adorned with Sunflower Stickles in the centers); some text paper; a little border strip with the days of the week; a Graphic 45 sentiment; some miscellaneous holiday washi and a few super-skinny red mats.
JB2620: The Stockings Were Hung runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, October 7th. Visit Jingle Belles today to see Stephanie's inspiring card; then start planning your own Stocking-centric masterpiece!
Fall has officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, so here's a card that celebrates some autumnal favorites, in Eyelet Outlet Brad form. There are quite a few different brad styles here, so please jump down to the Handy Shopping List for direct links to each one. Just a reminder that the Clearance Event has now been in progress for a few months, so apologies if any of these have gone out of stock. There are still loads of bargains to be had though... stock up on your favorites today!
Wishing you an autumn that is full of all YOUR favorite things!
At Jingle Belles this is our second week to CASE (Copy and Selectively Edit) any of the cards that Stephanie or I have made for any of the previous Jingle Belles prompts. You don't need to make a card exactly like the one you choose as your target (the acronym CASE does contain the words "Selectively Edit" after all) just be sure we can see "the bones" so to speak; and remember to tell us which card inspired yours!
This week I chose a card of Stephanie's from our Jingle Belles' prompt last February called Red Christmas; which looked a bit like this... ok technically, it looked exactly like this lol:
Once again, I was attracted by the perfect balance and bold simplicity of Stephanie's card; but also... honestly... knowing I had ingredients which were fairly close to the same vibe definitely makes the job easier. I had a journal card with a similar Doodlebug Santa; I had two coordinating red patterned papers: one texty, one not; I added skinny black mats between my layers; and I had a red sentiment with "believe" in it... though rather than stamping, I used a Tim Holtz Sticker. I think this captures the vibe of Stephanie's card pretty well and obviously I have consider it a big bonus that its flat, lightweight design is strong in the mail-ability genre!
JB2619: CASE-ing Christmas runs until next Wednesday evening, September 25th. Come join the fun at Jingle Belles!
Cardmaking is smooth sailing with Eyelet Outlet Boat and Lighthouse Brads. In this design, our Sun and Clouds Brads highlight the sentiment, with Sea Shore and Shell Brads in the foreground; giving this sweet beach scene (made with Simon Hurley create Treescapes backdrop, Watercolor sky, and Smooth Sailing sentiment) lots of texture and interest.
Visit the Eyelet Outlet Store and stock up on your favorite brads, bling, enamels and flowers... while supplies last!
My Dina Wakley MEdia Ledger Journal is getting pretty full, and I've enjoyed working in it so much that I'm considering doing something I never have before: buying a second copy of the same journal. In the meantime, I had a blast adding layer after layer to this page, including the large Stenciled Queenie (the only thing here that is, alas, out of print); which I covered in ancient, miscellaneous alphabet and numeral rub-ons (the only non-Dina products used); a Passport Photo Chipboard Shape adorned with a perfectly fitting face from the On Their Mind Rub-On Transfer Set; some butterflies from the Flutters set; a few scraps of Grunge Specimens Chroma Transparencies; and finally a few beautiful, colorful birds from the Fly High Stamp Set.
Since September 7th was Labor Day here in the US, we've decided to celebrate that at Jingle Belles by giving you a bit of a head start with this fortnight's card designs. We're asking you to CASE (Copy and Selectively Edit) any of the cards that Stephanie or I have made for any of the previous Jingle Belles prompts. Which means you've got 16.5 years worth (times two!) of ideas from which to choose! You don't need to make an EXACT duplicate of the card (the acronym does contain "Selectively Edit" afterall); Just be sure to tell us which card inspired yours!
I chose quite a recent card of Stephanie's because I love it, of course; but also because I realized I had almost all the exact same "ingredients" so it seemed like too good an opportunity to waste, lol! Here's her take from the Unicorn Colors prompt in July:
In retrospect, I wish I had made my card a bit smaller but... (shrugs) ...hindsight is 20/20. right? I used the same adorable Lawn fawn Yeti as Stephanie, I diecut circles from four sinimlar shades of cardstock and debossed them, albeit with a slightly different snowflake folder. I swapped in an Eyelet Outlet Santa Hat and Candy Cane Brad in place of the stamped versions; then I added red and black mats and a similar Lawn Fawn sentiment. Et voila!
JB2619: CASE-ing Christmas runs until the evening of Wednesday, September 25th. Come join the fun at Jingle Belles!
...Make Lemonade! On the other hand, an encouraging, all-occasion card featuring Eyelet Outlet Lemonade and Citrus Brads is considerably easier to mail. A few White Daisy and Leaf Brads add to the design, under a sprig of Simon Hurley "Zesty" Lemons that I made with tinted Texture Paste*.
Just a reminder that as items in the Eyelet Outlet Store sell out, they will not be replaced; the website is being retired at the end of the year. Case in point: I had planned to make a version of this card that ended with "Make Margaritas" but the Cocktail Brads are (alas) already gone. So this is definitely the time to stock up on your favorites!
*There's a tutorial on the Ranger Project Page detailing the (EASYT!) process for making the textured lemons, just sayin'...
There's a new challenge at Shopping Our Stash: for "Who's Who" we'd like you to use some sort of "person" image on your card. Man or woman... old or young... sweet or funny; all the details are up to you! Here's what I made:
My first thought was to make a collage card featuring a sewing pattern lady, so that's exactly what I did! As it turns out, the finished collage is 8x10" which is admittedly big for a card, but I found so many fun, interesting, older stash items that worked, I just kept adding them in. I worked partly thematically (Paris, nature, lace) and partly by color (white, cream, tan). There are lots of "found" papers (sheet music; an old ledger) and images from vintage books and magazines (those cool birds are from a Peterson's Field Guide Coloring Book!); but I also used most of a sheet of lace stickers (so old they don't have a package or brand name but thankfully are still perfectly sticky; and finally bunch of ancient rub-ons. The last are one of my favorite collage ingredients because, let's face it, older rub-on transfers are not always 100% reliable, are they? On a regular card that can be very disappointing, but on a maximalist collage... if they don't rub on perfectly, it just looks like part of the vintage vibe! I inked the edges and some of the ingredients with Antique Linen Distress Ink and finally matted the whole thing on textured white cardstock, then machine stitched all around the edges to absolutely guarantee that nothing will come unstuck at a later date.
SOS582: Who's Who runs until the evening of Monday, September 21st. Visit Shopping Our Stash today to see the fabulous Crew Cards; then start planning what you'll link up with us this fortnight.
I was sorting through some older (storebought) cards that folks have saved for me, and I sort of fell in love with these sprigs of blue, silver, gold and black flocked leaves... I thought they were the beginning of a collage but nope, they decided to be part of a mandala, instead!
It's the second week of our Stuck on You prompt at Jingle Belles, so Stephanie and I are still making holiday cards with one of our favorite embellishments: STICKERS! Here's what I made this week:
I love the big 12x12 sticker sheets that coordinate with various holiday patterned paper collections. Shocking true confession: I don't always feel like I need the papers themselves; sometimes I just buy the sticker sheet. Case in point: Simple Stories' Snow Pine Lodge provided all of these cute stickers (that camper, tho!); the papers, which I chose by color, are all just older scraps from my stash!
JB2618: Stuck on You runs until next Wednesday evening, September 9th. Link your sticker-centric cards with us at Jingle Belles!
Upcycling a birthday card that was way too cute to chuck in the recycling bin with an adorable frame of Eyelet Outlet Kitten, Cat, Star and 1/8" Round Brads for a design that's PURR-fectly delightful!
Here's another card I made with Ranger's new Americana collection, part of their Make-It line of affordable, practical, absolutely fabulous stamps, stencils and accessories.
I added dots of the appropriately named Firecracker, White Opal and Blue Velvet Liquid Pearls to the centers of the fireworks and adorned it with stamped balloons and sentiment from the Americana Stamp Set.
All of these new red, white and blue products are in the Ranger Store now, just waiting for you to try them out in your next papercrafting project!
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.
Stephanie and I are celebrating STICKERS this fortnight at Jingle Belles, a crafty must-have that we both still absolutely adore; and we're guessing that, like us, you have a little stash of holiday stickers you could raid for this challenge.
Probably my most hoarded stickers are the Basic Grey alphabet sheets that came with all of their holiday collection packs back in the day. It's not that I didn't use them at the time, or in the meantime; but nevertheless I've amassed a bit of a collection... though admittedly not all of them still have any vowels left. So this week I decided to mix and match several colorways to make a fun texty background for my card. Then I added some nice big ornament stickers from BG's Figgy collection, a mat of red, and some machine stitching around the edges et voila!
JB2618: Stuck on You runs until 6pm (Eastern) on Wednesday, September 9th. Head on over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's card and start planning what you will make with STICKERS!
Holiday Jumpstart: Yeti to Party is Paper Anthology's newest holiday card kit, which features a handsome yeti in a snowy wonderland. It's available exclusively in our Paper Anthology Design Etsy Shop.
Paper Anthology’s Holiday Jumpstart Card Kit is our pre-packaged kit that includes everything you need (except adhesive, optional white ink, and coloring tools) to complete FIVE copies of this new original holiday card design. This edition is called “Yeti to Party” because of the aforementioned yeti, who's ready to make your holiday even more festive!
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, optional white ink, and coloring tools) 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.
Please note that the yeti images are stamped in Archival Ink, making water-based markers or colored pencils the best choice for coloring!
This kit contains:
Five Cable Knit embossed panels, with rounded corners
Five 4 x 1.5" border strips with icicle punched edge
Five deep blue squares, embossed with Snow Flurries and decorative corners
Five white square mats with decorative corners
Ten pale green patterned paper diecut trees
Five Yetis stamped with Archival Jet Black Ink, ready to color
Five "Yeti to Party?" stamped sentiments (not pictured, but included!)
Five small punched snowflakes
Five medium punched snowflakes
Five large punched snowflakes
Five white A2 cards
CLICK HERE to go to the Yeti to Party page of the Paper Anthology Design Etsy Shop and check out our other Holiday Jumpstart Kits while you're there.
Eyelet Outlet Gnome 2 Brads and Girl Gnome Brads were literally made for each other; which might be why they add exponential levels of cuteness to any project. These gnomes are showing off their beautiful mushroom home, surrounded by Sun and Cloud Brads, a White Daisy Brad, a green Leaf Brad and a Mini Bee.
Just a reminder that at the end of December 2026 Suzanne, Tony and the Eyelet Outlet Website will all be taking a well-deserved retirement; be sure to stock up on all your favorite brads, bling, eyelets and embellishments before they're gone!