Taking (Card)Stock

It's week two of our Jingle Belles celebration of Cardstock Christmas for which absolutely NO patterned paper is allowed. I usually semi-panic at times like these, but luckily my Wendy Vecchi stamps, Chippies and 3D Embossing Folder stepped in to save the day!

I stamped half a dozen poinsettias from Wendy Vecchi's Doodle Christmas Stamp Set and a bunch of holly leaves from the Doodle Holiday set, embossing them in Ranger Lilac Pearl and White Embossing Powders, respectively. I colored them with Petunia, Peat Moss and English Ivy Archival Inks, then did a bit of fussy-cutting before adding Sunflower Liquid Pearls to the centers. I stamped the large swag of greenery from Doodle Holiday in English Ivy across the chunky chipboard "Joy" from Wendy's Statements Chippies; then mounted all of the above on a cardstock panel to which I gave quite an impressive bit of dimension with Spellbinders' Flowers & Foliage 3D Embossing Folder. One skinny Petunia mat later, my 5.5" square card was complete!

You still have until next Wednesday evening (5/22/24) to join our Jingle Belles' Cardstock Christmas fun, which we hope you will!

The Blues Are Still Blue*

Central New Jersey continues to be cold and wintery but the bloomin' beautiful flowers in Wendy Vecchi's Garden Collection from Spellbinders definitely warm things up and Wendy's selection of blue Archival inks from Ranger is (arguably) the cure for the blues. This card has A LOT of blue... and A LOT of layers... as you may have noticed.

From the bottom working upwards we have: white cardstock (it's a 6 x 5" card... weird size but... that's what happened, lol); pale blue cardstock; lavender cardstock; Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Washi Tape; Chippie from the Bases and Frames set, tinted with Bluebird Archival; white cardstock stamped with multiple repeats of the large flower cluster from Wendy's Garden Party Stamp and Die Set, colored using the coordinating layering stencils with Bluebird, Morning Glory, Cornflower, Cactus Flower, Violet, Rosey Posey and Leaf Green Archivals; Heart Chippie from the Bases and Frames set, stamped and colored in the same manner, then lined up over the same area in the background; stack of ancient paper flowers; Eyelet Outlet Dragonfly Brads.

Very much loving the convenience and quickness of using the layering stencils to add color. You can purchase the stamp and die set on its own, but I recommend the Garden Party Bundle. The stencils are numbered AND have registration marks at the four corners to make aligning them a no-brainer. and they're generously sized so that there's plenty of room to place all four magnets on the Stay-tion.

If it's a bit cold and grey where you are, why not immerse yourself in glorious color... it'll be Spring in no time! ♥

*"The Blues Are Still Blue" is my favorite Belle and Sebastian song. Just sayin'...

Embossed Holiday Treescape Tags

The holiday season is here and in my opinion, there is no such thing as too much sparkle and shine! For this project I've used Ranger's Winter Wonderland Bundle of Verdigris and Green Tinsel Embossing Powders paired with White Opal and Bahama Bay Liquid Pearls to decorate a trio of terrific treescape tags featuring Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Statements Chippies and Simon Hurley's create. Treescapes and Winter Wonderland stamp sets. There are step-by-step instructions on the Ranger Project Page. And while you're over there, why not check out ALL of the fabulous and inspiring Ranger Bundles?!

Wendy Vecchi: Time for Cake!

Few things say, "Happy Birthday" better than flowers and cake; for most of my childhood birthdays that meant 

tiger lillies and chocolate cake! I'd love for you to visit the Ranger Project Page and follow along as I use Wendy Vecchi's beautiful MAKE ART Birthday Bash and A Million Thanks Stamp, Die and Stencil sets plus lots of her gorgeous Designer Series Archival Inks and the Wreaths Chippies set to add both to this yummy birthday card.

Wendy Vecchi Liquid Pearls Shaker Card

I've always loved shaker cards, and I love them even more, now that I know I can make my own perfectly coordinated shaker confetti using Ranger's Liquid Pearls in my favorite palette of Wendy Vecchi signature shades. Head over to the Ranger Blog and follow along as I use Wendy Vecchi's Doodle Town Stamps, Archival Inks and coordinating shades of Liquid Pearls to make this sunny, summer-inspired Thank You card.

Wendy Vecchi #1 Dad Card

I find masculine cards more challenging to design and Father's Day always reminds me of that fact. But luckily, Wendy Vecchi's "Award Winning" Stamp, Die and Stencil Set is absolutely perfect for Father's Day... and pretty much any other occasion you can think of! Head over to the Ranger Blog to see how I've paired Wendy Vecchi's "Award Winning" Stamp, Die and Stencil Set with Chippies embellishments to create a card that any dad is sure to prize!

Birthday Bash in Blue

Birthday cards are always fun to make and send; which is just as well, since I'm pretty sure most cardmakers create more individual birthday cards than any other style throughout the year. I made this fun, inky version using Wendy Vecchi's Birthday Bash Stamp, Die and Stencil Set with Archival Inks and Statements Chippies. I'd love for you to hop over to the Ranger Projects Page to see the tutorial that goes with it!

Five Favorites: Wendy Vecchi

Every December I love reading "Favorites" posts on blogs and social media... you know, when people do a round up of the projects they loved most during the year. I always think to myself, "Someday I'm gonna do that!" and it looks like this might be the year! In honor of the fact that yesterday was Wendy Vecchi's birthday, I think I'll start with my favorite Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART projects... in more or less chronological order. (Click the links below each photo to see the original posts with all of the specific product details.)

Lucky Clover Card

The brilliant "seeds" of this came from Patti Behan at Ranger, who suggested using the hearts from Wendy's Merci and More Stamp, Die and Stencil set to make four-leafed clovers for a tutorial that ran on St. Patrick's Day. I wouldn't have thought of it, but once she said it, I was wholeheartedly ON BOARD! 

Moody Blue Mandala Monday

Not an official Wendy project, and it only uses a fraction of her Designer Series Archival Inks, but I really love this mandala, so it's IN!

Tropical Grunge ATC's

Wendy's three newest Archival shades --Rosey Posey, Peachy Keen and Morning Glory-- came out in June and I was instantly obsessed. I love everything I made for the release, but these funky, grungy, ink-over-collage ATC's miiiiiight be my favorite. 

Doodle Bird Garden Card

Another awesome suggestion from Patti, could I make a NON-holiday card using Wendy's Christmas in July release stamp sets, Doodle Christmas and Doodle Holiday. Yes. Yes, I could! 

(My favorite part? The flowers are the ornament cluster from Doodle Christmas, stamped upside down!) 

Gal-O-Ween Treat Bags

Did you know that the shopping bag stamp from the Let's Shop Stamp, Die and Stencil set has a coordinating die that lets you make gift-card-sized  DIMENSIONAL giftbags? Brilliant or what??! 

Holiday Gift Wrap Set

Ok, yeah, technically this is number six out of five, but I looooooove wrapping gifts; I really love using my papercrafting supplies to decorate them; and I especially love how Wendy's Doodle stamps, as well as her Chippies and Washi Tape Assortments combined to make this set super-festive!

♥♥♥

Just a reminder that the Ranger Blog, Project Page and IG Account are amazing sources of inspiration and ideas for using ALL of the wonderful Ranger projects. Also, Wendy Vecchi's Instagram is entirely awesome (be sure to check out Tip Tuesday each week!) and the MAKE ART with Wendy Vecchi FaceBook group is a super-fun place to hang out!

Wendy Vecchi Holiday Gift Wrap

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is the chance to be a Wrap Star, lol! Partly because a beautiful presentation makes a gift even more special; but also... I just really love using my stamps, inks, tapes and embellies to decorate boxes and bags. If you head over to the Ranger Blog, you can follow along, step-by-step, as I use Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Stamps, Chippies and Washi Tape to turn plain jane bags and boxes from the discount store into the prettiest presents under the tree!

Wendy Vecchi Autumn Greetings Frame by Lauren Bergold

How do you take this collection of fabulous Wendy Vecchi Products from Ranger, including the beautiful Autumn Greetings Stamp, Die and Stencil Set as well as Lots of Leaves Chippies...

...and make it into a lovely fall frame? The answer --in step-by-step form-- is on the Ranger Blog today. I'd love for you to jump over there and see!

Holiday Stamps, All-Occasion Card!

As you know, I make Christmas cards all year round, and I often use non-holiday items in my holiday cards; but I don't think I've ever done the reverse. But since Wendy Vecchi's Doodle Holiday and Doodle Christmas Stamp Sets are super-cute and super-flexible, I was totally inspired to use them for a not-at-all-massy type of project; and today on the Ranger Blog, I'm happy to show you, step-by-step, how I created an entire garden, in card form. I'd love for you to jump over there and check it out! 

Blue Christmas

We're channeling our inner Elvis this fortnight at Jingle Belles; for "Blue Christmas" we'd like to see holiday cards that are (...you guessed it...) predominantly blue! Here's what I made, featuring my new Wendy Vecchi Doodle Christmas Stamp Set from Ranger:

I made a fun, slightly splashy background by smooshing Wendy's Morning Glory Archival Ink Pad onto my craft sheet, misting it lightly with rubbing alcohol, and dragging a piece of watercolor paper through the wet ink in several directions. This is a technique more often done on glossy paper, but I like the slightly different effect you get on a matte surface, as well. When the panel was entirely dry, I stamped the baubles from Doodle Christmas a few times in Jet Black Archival at the left corner, then filled in the area above them by stamping the evergreen bough repeatedly in Fern Green. I used brushmarkers and a sparkly gel pen to color the ornaments. Using a Mini Ink Blending Tool with a Domed Foam, I lightly dabbed more Morning Glory onto the chipboard "LOVE" embellishment from the new Statements Chippies set, then stamped the same color, full strength, randomly all over the word with the sparkles stamp. To make the word pop even more, I added a strip of bright blue tape from Wendy's Washi Assortment (#1) and matted on glitter and metallic papers in a coordinating shade of blue. 

Be sure to head over to Jingle Belles to see Stephanie's card and start planning what you'll make!

More Wendy Vecchi Christmas in July

Wendy Vecchi's new Doodle Holiday Stamp Set is versatile enough to make all-occasion cards (like this one from yesterday) but as a matter of fact, it's quite excellent for Christmas, too! Today I've paired it with stamps from Doodle Christmas and with chipboard greenery from Wendy's Chippie Wreaths set customized with Fern Green Liquid Pearls, plus a few of my own doodle accents.

I stamped the wreath from Doodle Christmas onto a circle of vintage sheet music in Fern Green Archival, added outlines with a Letter It Fineliner and incorporated tiny berries of Sage Liquid Pearls. I stamped the candle, holly leaves and evergreen bough on white cardstock, colored them with brushmarkers and cut them out. To build the card, I layered the three wreaths onto a background of Tape from Wendy's Washi Assortment #1, popped the candle and holly onto Letter It Clear Foam Tape and matted with a beautiful piece of patterned paper from Stamperia; then affixed the entire thing to a 5.5" square card made of Distress Cracked Leather Cardstock.

These stamps have inspired the most beautiful cards from Wendy and the other Makers... I hope you'll visit the INK... STAMP & MAKE ART with Wendy Vecchi Facebook Group to see those!

Floral Doodles? (Yes, Please!)

On Thursday, I posted my first card featuring Doodle Town, one of three new stamp sets from Wendy Vecchi this Ranger Release Week. Today I'm showing off super-luscious Floral Doodles, and tomorrow I'll be back with Doodle Celebration. I'm quite smitten with all three sets, but Floral Doodles features doodle-y blooms that are Hibiscus- and Plumeria-like, which immediately makes me think of Hawaii, which immediately makes any day even better!

Inspired by some of Wendy Vecchi's previous cards on Instagram, I stamped all of the flowers and leaves in Black Archival Ink onto Dina Wakley Stickyback Canvas Tape, then colored them using Detail Blending Tools and WV Signature Archivals in Pink Peony, Tea Rose, Sunflower, Prickly Pear, Leaf Green and English Ivy. I added a few highlights and shadows with colored pencils, and put Eyelet Outlet Pink Jewel Bling and a White Mini Round Brad into the centers of the three largest blooms.

When I made my Inky Birthday Bash Card, for this Ranger Blog Post, I created several inky backgrounds on various paper types, before settling on the boldest, glossiest one for that particular card. But... I saved the "rejected" panels for later use; and the soft pink/yellow/orange tones of this one went perfectly with my Floral Doodles. I placed it inside the scallop-y chipboard frame from Wendy's Bases and Frames Chippies set, affixed the blooms to the corners, and matted the whole thing on a panel made by covering a piece of plain white cardstock with neat strips of the widest yellowy-green tape from Wendy Vecchi's Washi Tape Assortment 1. I stamped "Thanks So Much" onto an offcut of the watercolor paper background, matted it, and adhered it to the center with Ranger Adhesive Foam Tape.

Be sure to check out the Ranger Ink and Wendy Vecchi Instagram feeds for loads more inspiration!

It's an Inky Birthday Bash

I'm so happy to be back on the Ranger Blog with a brand new, super-colorful project featuring Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Birthday Bash Stamp, Die and Stencil Set and Chippies embellishments. See how I made this vibrant inky background with Wendy's signature series Archival Inks in analogous shades of pink, yellow and orange; topped off with my all-time favorite cake... Red Velvet! On the Ranger Blog today... just click this link!

Step 1: Gather your supplies, including Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Birthday Bash Stamp, Die and Stencil Set; Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Bases and Frames Chippies; plus assorted Archival Inks in analogous shades of pink, yellow and orange; rubbing alcohol and white Yupo Cardstock; plus your favorite coloring media.

Step 2: Working on a Ranger Silicone Mat or other non-absorbent surface, "smoosh" one shade of Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink onto the mat by turning the ink pad upside down and randomly applying a bit of color directly to the work surface. Lightly mist the area with Isopropyl Alcohol (91% is ideal but 70% also works fine) then place your cardstock face down on the mat and "grab" some of the color. It's best to apply shades individually, to avoid staining your ink pads. To use multiple colors at a time, dispense a few drops from several Archival Reinkers, remembering that the pigment is much more concentrated, and you might want a bit more alcohol to dilute it.

Step 3: Wipe the mat, apply another color, mist with alcohol, and dip your paper into the diluted ink. Change directions with the paper a few times for better coverage. Repeat this step as many times as you'd like, or until the entire paper is covered. This card features shades of yellow (Buttercup and Chrome) and orange (Tea Rose and Bright Tangelo) at the edges, with a patch of pink (Pink Peony and Vibrant Fuchsia) towards the center. 

Step 4: Using the two solid stars in Wendy's Birthday Bash set, stamp them randomly, over and over, in Magenta Hue Archival, concentrating on the diagonal area of pink towards the center of the paper.

Step 5: Using the confetti stencil from the Birthday Bash set, apply Sunflower Archival, starting towards the center of the inky panel and working outwards. Move the stencil several times and change position as needed to achieve a pleasing arrangement of confetti.

Step 6: Stamp the Cake, Candle and "Make a Wish" sentiment in Potting Soil Archival. Color the cake and candle with markers and/or pencils in a style that represents your favorite type of cake (the sample is Red Velvet, with Cream Cheese Frosting) and diecut or fussy-cut. Stamp the two solid stars multiple times in Vibrant Fuchsia, and use the coordinating dies to cut them out. Mount the images and sentiment on foam adhesive and set aside.

Step 7: On a scrap of Wendy Vecchi Perfect Cardstock, apply Pink Peony Archival Ink through the striped portion of the coordinating stencil in the Birthday Bash set. Add darker stripes with a fine-tipped pink pen, if desired. Trim the strip to 5.5 x 1" and adhere to a skinny mat of Magenta cardstock.

Step 8: Using a Ranger Domed Ink Blending Foam, apply Sunflower Archival to the Heart from Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Chippies Bases and Frames set. Trace the heart on a piece of coordinating Sunflower cardstock and cut out. Adhere the cardstock heart to the Chippie, slightly offset, using  Perfect Card Adhesive.

Step 9: Assemble the card: Trim the inky panel to 5" square and ink the edges lightly with Magenta Hue. Add a few scattered dots and doodles with a white paint pen, if desired. Affix the stripey stenciled strip to the base with Perfect Card Adhesive, approximately 1.5" from the bottom of the panel. Add the Chippie Heart to the strip using double stick tape and add the cake, candle, sentiment and stars in a cluster. Affix the finished panel to a 5.5" square card and machine stitch around the edges, if desired. 

Step 10: Decorate an envelope to match, using the stamps in the Birthday Bash set and coordinating colors. This way you'll be ready to mail the finished card to your favorite Birthday Girl or Guy!

Wendy Vecchi Lucky Clover Card

Erin Go Bragh! Saint Patrick's Day comes once a year, but we can (and should!) celebrate our exceptional good luck in having wonderful friends and family all year long! Today, I'm very happy to be back on the Ranger Blog, creating a green (and clovery!) all-occasion card featuring Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Chippies, Stamps, Stencils and Washi Tape; I'd love for you to join me there!

Stitched Chippies? (YEP!)

Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Chippies are sturdy, pre-primed chipboard embellishments which can be inked, stamped and painted to uniquely enhance your papercrafting projects. They come in five varieties: Bases and Frames, Wreaths, Blossoms, Lots of Leaves and Beverages. Today I've got a fun tutorial on the Ranger Blog in which I've used embellies from the first two sets and added even more dimension and texture to them by hand-stitching on my Chippies, I hope you'll hop over and check it out!

A Cup of Kindness

One of my favorite sets of Wendy Vecchi Make Art Chippies embellishments is called "Beverages" and has a nice big coffee mug, a teacup and saucer, two spoons and two teabag tags. I painted the mug with Dina Wakley's gorgeous Eggplant acrylic paint and added a raised pattern with Ranger's Opaque Matte Texture Paste through the three-dot stencil pattern in Wendy's Merci and More Stamp, Die and Stencil set.

I used the chrysanthemum stencils, stamps and dies from Wendy Vecchi's Thank You set to create the exuberant bouquet in Tiger Lily, Tea Rose and Orange Blossom Archival Inks, with leaves of Prickly Pear and outlines in Jet Black. The finished bouquet is mounted on a collage of vintage book pages, sheet music and part of an old map. Mats of eggplant and floral green complete this not-quite-A9-sized card.

Be sure to visit the Ranger and Wendy Vecchi Instagram accounts for lots more inspiration featuring all the brand new Chippies designs!

Wendy Vecchi Chippie Valentine

I'm very excited to be on the Ranger Blog today, showing off some brand new Wendy Vecchi Chippies in a fun (and colorful) Valentine. What are Chippies? They're sturdy, pre-primed chipboard embellishments, ready to customize with inks, stamps, stencils, pens, paints or any other media you wish. I hope you'll hop over and see the completed card and read all about it!

Chippies come in Blossoms, Bases and Frames (both of which I've used in today's card) as well as Lots of Leaves, Beverages and Wreaths.

Un-be-LEAF-able!

I've been having fun playing with some brand new Wendy Vecchi Chippies from Ranger. These pre-primed chipboard embellishments are ready to customize with inks, stamps, stencils, pens, paints and more. In this case, I've used Archival Inks to tint some gorgeous foliage from the Lots of Leaves set. See?

I used (appropriately enough!) Leaf Green on the larger leaf and added a bit of shading with Fern Green around the edges. The smaller leaf is inked in Prickly Pear. I left the large scalloped frame from the Bases and Frames set the natural primed white shade it came in, and used it to surround a background made with maybe my favorite tape in Wendy's Washi Assortment 1. 

I stamped the large solid flower from the Country Flowers Stamp, Die and Stencil set in Sky Blue, then added the detail stamp on top, inked in Cornflower. I stamped the flower's center separately in Sunflower and added detail with Jet Black. The sentiment, "Make a Wish" is from the Bravo set and is stamped in Night Sky.

In addition to Bases and Frames and Lots of Leaves, Chippies come in Blossoms, Wreaths and Beverages, too.

I hope you'll hop over to the Ranger Blog to see all of the beautiful new products which have been released last week... there is so much inspiration, you won't want to miss it!